


Quarter after quarter

by AmeLee23



Series: Keith's Straight Love Stories [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adam/Shiro - Freeform, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Normal Life, Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Porn, Angst and Romance, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkward Boners, Best Friends, Blow Jobs, Body Worship, Breasts, Bullying, Character Development, Clubbing, Coin Wishes, Comedy, Confessional Sex, Cookies, Cunnilingus, Dancing, Dean - Freeform, Dean trbl, Detention, Dirty Talk, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Falling In Love, Flirting, Floor Sex, Fluff, Football | Soccer, Forests, Fountain, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, Friendzone, Garrison Is In Houston, Growing Old Together, Hinted Klance Rivalry, Hockey, Houston National Reservation, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Jeremy Shada is Lance's friend, Keith & Shiro (Voltron) are Adoptive Siblings, Keith (Voltron) Angst, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith (Voltron) is So Done, Keith (Voltron) is a Dork, Keith Loves Kpop, Keith is a Hot Head, Keith is in love, Kissing, Krolia Isn't Part of This, Lactose Intolerant Keith (Voltron), Long Shot, Love Bites, Love/Hate, Makeup-Wearing Keith (Voltron), Making Out, Male Friendship, Male-Female Friendship, Man Ponytail, Men Crying, Moaning, Motorbikes, Multiple Orgasms, Mutual Pining, Neck Kissing, Non-Consensual Tickling, Oblivious Keith (Voltron), Older Keith, Oral Sex, Orphan Keith (Voltron), Physics, Platonic Cuddling, Poetry, Rejection, Romantic Comedy, Rooftops, Rough Sex, Scratching, Seducing, Semi-Public Sex, Sex, Sexual Teasing, Sexual Tension, Sexual innuendos, Slow Burn, Socially Awkward Keith (Voltron), Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Steven Yeun is Keith's Best Friend, Suicidal Thoughts, Talking, Teasing, Thighs, Things Happen Offscreen, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, True Love, Underage Drinking, Underage Smoking, Vaginal Fingering, Wall Sex, Wishes, adashi/shadam, bending over, dressing up, houston, male dom, midnight talks, scared keith, school sex, shiro is a teacher, shy keith, tongue kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 17:02:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15733686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmeLee23/pseuds/AmeLee23
Summary: She enters his life, but she is no one.Just to become the one who he couldn't live without;She turns his life around,Stands by him. but forces his hand,Stuck in a vicious circle of friendship and sexual frustrationTo love her, he must lose himself and discover a new him.Only after he decides what he truly wants,They make love for the first time.Quarter after quarter,They become a whole.





	1. First Quarter

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to the begging of this roller coaster ride!  
> I kid you not, this took me three months to finish. Season 6 and 7 came out since I started writing this.  
> One important thing I must say before you start reading:  
> This story is based of bits and events that happen along a long period of time, so it's up to your imagination to think what happens in between.  
> Even if the story seems rushed at first (the first chapter is) think of it as rare encounters of two strangers; then the story will explain itself as it proceeds.

She didn't know the man she was following, only that his name is Jeremy. He seemed kind and bubbly, and with the energy of a nuclear base, he jumped up his seat when she asked him to lead her around the place and introduce her to people.

Names and names passed her by, smiles - heartfelt and ironic flashed on their unknown faces. She didn't care however, if they were or not true. As time goes by, she knows she'll only pick the best of people to hang around her.

In the far back, seated on a cement block, stood what she presumed the last two guys present; a chatter and hummer. One talked, whilst one somewhat pretended to listen.

"This is Steven. He likes hockey." Jeremy pointed towards the one that was previously talking, who specifically wore a Detroit Red Wings cap.

"Hiya. Nice to meetcha." He spoke with an american and eastern accent, the starts of a tiny mustache raising into a smile. They shook hands and she felt the sincerity of his eyes.

"Aaand, this is Keith. He doesn't talk much." Keith looked at her for a mere second before returning back to his phone, seemingly uninterested.

Steven snatched away his phone, restraining his attention to the reality of the situation.

"Nice to meet you, Keith." She extended her hand to him, at which he just stared. From her boots to her chin, he examined her, but when he met her eyes, he flinched away.

At this point, she grew aggravated and her hand numb, so in the heat of the situation, she reached for Keith right hand and forcibly shook it. He stared at her dumbfounded, his body limp as she wriggled his arm in her grasp.

His hand fell to his side when she let go, turning around, but not before dropping the last bomb on top of Keith.

"I'll see you later, Keith." With a smile.

The skin of his hand itched with sparks.

 

"Hey Keith." She spoke, as he tried to undo the circular lock of his school locker. He glanced to the side and chocked when realization hit him. He snuck out barely a whisper of a greeting, but she accepted it nonetheless.

She moved to his other side as Keith opened the locker door right in front of her face, and peeked inside the crowded compartment. It was empty and impersonal besides a few books he was stacking, but hidden on the locker wall, in a corner, was a picture of a musician.

"I listen to DEAN as well." She said, a light of amusement seeming to dance around her lips.

With that, the bell rang and she gracefully departed from him, leaving Keith astonished.

Never in his life had he met someone that listened to his favourite artist.

 

Everyone talked and flirted with the new girl, while Keith simply stared at them from the end seat of the classroom. Everyone pushed everyone around, calling her to sit with them. She refused them politely, and with a smirk, she walked down the corridor of desks to the end of the room, clearing her throat next to Keith so he would take off his feet off the empty seat. He scrambled them off and held his breath, the scent of her perfume already filling his nostrils.

She seemed to pay attention, unlike Keith, who couldn't for the life of him focus on psychics with her around. He stole glances way too much, as she seemed deep in thought about whatever was written on the board. She was biting the end of a pencil, and he figured it was a habit, as the slim wood already had marks on it. She scrabbled in her notebook way too fast for him to follow, and soon he was lost.

At the end of class, Keith saw she had forgotten her pencil. He pondered if it meant something to her, if he should leave it. But he could bring himself, and it fit perfectly in his pencil box. He was going to give it back. Probably.

The pen mocked him all day from its confinement, and at home, it talked to him from inside the wretched backpack. He took it out and rolled it between his fingers, feeling the indents on its end. Keith knew something was changing.

He was going to give the pen back as soon as possible, only if he had the guts to. That, and the fact that the pen was innocently laying on his desk, where he had forgotten it last night. He only remembered that when he was a few feet away from her, so he panicked and dodged her completely, in what seemed like a desperate evasive move. She saw it and went to follow after him, curious about what made Keith drift around her like a rally car. Thankfully, Keith was swept up by Steven, who talked loudly and held him in a manly grip. She decided to abort the chase.

 

"Hey Keith." He inwardly jumped, trying to maintain a calm facade. Was she going to ask about yesterday's fuck up? He clearly noticed that she followed him, and bless Steven for the smooth saving of his poor ass.

"HEll- uhh. Hi." Great.

She giggled at his voice crack, and sat next to him, munching on a chocolate chip cookie. She tilted the pack in Keith's direction:

"Want some?"

Keith eyed her and then the cookies, not sure what the topic was about. His hormones were short-circuiting his brain.

"No, I, uh- I'm lactose intolerant." The cookies surely didn't contain that much amount of milk, but still, he liked to be sure he wouldn't wake up in the morning red as a cherry, covered in a bloody rash.

"Oh my, how horrible." Keith made a sound of approval, looking down at his feet, pushing rocks and dust around with the tip of his boots.

She scanned the miniscule writing on the pack of cookies thoroughly.

"Yep, this contains milk." She closed the pack and set it aside, not touching it anymore.

"You can, I mean, you can eat, it doesn't bother me." Keith seemed flattered at the move, and couldn't help commentating. This was officially, the longest sentence he ever communicated to her.

"That would just be rude to you." Keith opened his mouth to speak again and defend his premise, but she cut him off.

"I mean, I'm sure you have _cravings_ too." The air seemed to thicken, and the tone in her voice seemed to have changed. Keith was sure he was just hearing things, that it was just his brain playing tricks on him.

"There are substitutes." He tried to play it cool, ignoring the beating heartbeat in his temple, the hot blood cursing through his fingers.

"But they're not _the real thing."_ Keith blinked, looking at her closely. No, this wasn't his mind acting up, she was actually trying to insinuate something here.

It was all hazy; who moved closer? Why were they so close to each other in that moment? Why was Keith subconsciously biting his lip?

 

Days passed by; the pencil wasn't returned to its official owner, as Keith grew attached to it. He spun it between his fingers, gazed at it as if it was an interrogation, strangled it in his fist, and almost broke it in a fit of rage.

But he was scared to hurt it. It was at the mercy of his fingers, every move calculated and controlled by him; in reality, it was the other way around.

 

Keith grabbed the first pencil he felt in his pencil box, bringing it out to write some hieroglyphs in his physics notebook.

Physics.

She chuckled silently in the dead classroom, coming closer to Keith's ear to whisper.

"That's where it was." The coal stopped in place, in the middle of the number 5.

"What?"

"My pencil." Her breath slid along his skin.

He put the pencil down on the paper and flicked it towards her. She stopped it and sent it back towards him.

"Keep it. _It looks better between your fingers."_

He picked it up again, his mind in a frenzy. He tried to force his mind into thinking numbers are cool and interesting in that moment, that there isn't a weird feeling in his legs. But still, why was the pencil burning his skin?

 

She followed Jeremy out of class one day, and he led her to what he called the 'Spanish enthusiasts'. It was truly just a group of teenagers in the corner of the courtyard.

There he met a boy named Lance, a bubbly sweetheart who flirted way too much. But she liked his nature and good vibes, and it didn't take long for them to start messing around, dancing and singing the words of old Spanish songs. The notes resonated, even to where Keith was sitting.

"What did that can ever do to you?" Steven asked, and Keith turned around to see he was crushing his soda can in his hand.

"Nothing." He mumbled. "She didn't do anything to me."

"It. You mean it, it's a tin can, not a she- Ah." Steven looked behind him, and caught on very easily.

"I think she clearly did somethin' to you. Are you attracted to 'er?"

"Yeah and I'm scared." Keith sighed, letting his head drop on the table.

"But do you like 'er tho?" Steven was getting to something, and Keith didn't want it.

"I don't know." He was getting irritated.

"If it's just physical attraction, it's easy. Feelings is where it gets complicated."

Like Keith didn't know.

 

"Hey, hurry up, we're gonna be late to class!" A friend screamed at her, while she was staring at the endless row of cookies on shelves. It was early in the morning, a few minutes before class. Reading the ingredients of every single pack, it took way too long to find the perfect one.

Keith was nowhere to be seen that day at school, skipping or not, she didn't know; but she just couldn't find him. She took a huge detour on her way home, to stop by Keith's usual hangout. Exactly as if planned, he was there. She snuck behind him and got her lips as close as she could to his ear, whispering.

"Keith."

"Whaau, yeshz!" He jumped instantly, dodging her in a way that made him fall to the side, on the concrete.

"I've got you something!" She laughed, helping him up.

"What?"

"Lactose-free cookies! I hope you're not also allergic to hazelnuts tho." She flung the cookies to him, who stared at them in his lap.

"I'm, I'm not. But why buy me cookies?"

"You look like the kind of guy who needs some sugar in his life." She smirked, staring him down.

"Rude." Keith whispered, knocking right on the door of his inferiority complex.

"I've got enough sugar in my life!" Keith yelled back at her.

"I don't think you've understood what kind of sugar I'm talkin' about here; I meant girlfriend-type sugar."

"How do you know I don't have a girlfriend!?" She sat down next to him, talking right in his face.

"Yeah, loOK at me! I'm KEITh and my voice crAcks when I talk to pretty lAdies!" Keith turned around, trying to hold in his embarrassment. He knew it was true.

"Stop trying to compliment yourself." Keith mumbled, as a hopeless try to get back at her.

"I didn't, but I think you just did." She laughed at him, as she ceaselessly tried to get him to spin around back to her.

"What?" Keith finally turned around, furrowing his brows and scrunching his nose.

"You just agreed that I'm pretty."

_Because you are._

Keith was silent for some time, in which she just played with the rim of the cookie pack. She was waiting, and waiting. He still didn't get the courage to say what she wanted to hear.

"Just give me those damn cookies!" Keith leaped at her, who in a quick reflex, jumped up and dashed away. He ran after her, and looked like he was having fun.

What else was he supposed to do? It was a feeling, indeed it was. Making peace with it was hard, but if he really wanted this, he needed to get used to her presence. To man up a little.

She ran inside a blue set of doors, but was caught by Keith on the corridor of the building. He snatched the cookies from her and she slid down the wall, panting and wheezing from so much exercise.

"Are you okay?" Keith worried, but she just smiled at him. She extended her arm to him and he helped her up. Stumbling to her feet, she bumped into Keith and held on to his shoulder.

"Fuck, I'm dizzy." She felt limp and heavy in his arms, and now he regretted his outburst. She had her forehead on his shoulder, both hands there as well for support. She breathed on his chest, their feet were bumping into each other. It was too much for Keith's comfort; the sweat rolled down his neck, his breath pushing at his chest. The arm he held her with started to shake and he let out an involuntary sigh of distress.

One of her hands started moving from his shoulder, two fingers gliding down his muscled arm, raising goose bumps. His body stiffened in a way that seemed as if he wasn't moving at all anymore; like all his organs went static. He was holding in the longest breath of his life, but God knows his heart was still beating. Forcefully. He closed his eyes, the tingle in his belly getting stronger and stronger.

In a swift movement, she snatched the pack back and started sprinting away.

"You won't catch me this time!" She yelled. But Keith wasn't moving. He slowly moved his head down, looking at his now empty hand. The left-over tingles in his arm stung like heated needles.

"Keith?" She stopped in her track, looking back at him carefully, from a 5 meter distance. There was a soft pang of hurt in her chest. Sometimes, manipulation hurts the manipulator.

"I, I think I'mma go now..." He turned around and grit his teeth. His face flushed and he cursed under his breath, taking big steps away from her.

"Wait!" She yelled after him, but he pretended not to hear. Remorse washed over her, and her legs started moving on their own.

It was all a big confusion; her plan worked, but Keith wasn't exactly easy to handle. Is this all turning into something else?

He pushed open the door to the stairs, leaving her behind. He walked up the stairs in a haste, ignoring the fact that she was following him.

"KEITH I SWEAR TO GOD!" She yelled into the quiet building, her voice echoing.

"What?!" He finally stopped and looked back at her, thankfully, his face wasn't red anymore.

"I didn't spend 20 minutes in the store at 7 in the fucking morning just so you could deny my cookies!" Only after it came out, she realized how stupid it sounded. She was furious, her hair deranged. She was squinting her eyes real hard at Keith, her fists tight. More so, she looked like an angry child.

Keith cracked up and started laughing. It was if he was looking at himself in the mirror, just a version a lot more adorable.

"Come with me." He found himself kindly smiling, motioning her over. She ran up to him, and latched on to the corner of his shirt, and they walked endlessly up the stairs. He didn't understand why she was holding his shirt, it's not like she's gonna get lost on a set of stairs? But it was too cute to stop.

Keith opened the door to the roof. The wind was warm and pleasing, and the view was pretty. On the sides of the door, were small Christmas lights, trailing to the other side, which somewhat had a metal handmade roof, and an old, rusty bench was under it.

"This place is pretty." She sat next to him, finally opening the cookie pack.

"It's prettier at night." Keith gazed in the distance, his pupils dilating in admiration.

"Are you insinuating I should spend the night with you here?" She raised her eyebrows and smirked.

"WhAt nO!" Keith was taken by surprise, and after an awkward cough, he finally managed to talk normally.

"Stop it."  She laughed and bit a cookie, admiring Keith from the side.

He wasn't really in the mood for jokes, as he was taking a trip down memory lane, bewitched by the scenery, but the corner of his lips still rose at the sound of her laugh.

"I come with my brother here. We stay awake all night and then he hates me the next day when he's groggy at work." Keith chuckled, and she scooted closer to him, tilting the food towards him. Keith didn't refuse this time.

"Do you have a brother?" She asked, a bit confused.

"Soul brother, more-like. He's the one who adopted me. And since we're only 6 years apart, I can't really think of him as my dad."

She hummed, listening closely to every word that left his lips. Keith himself didn't know why he was talking, why he was opening up, but something in him wanted to let out all these, wanted her to continue asking questions.

"I heard that you're adopted, but never the details." _Was that a 'please continue'?_ Keith surely took as one.

"Mom left when I was a baby, and dad died when I was five. Shiro, my brother, adopted me when I was 14." Long story short, all details avoided. No nights crying himself to sleep, no lonely years and suicidal thoughts. Only if he could erase all those complications and remain with what he'd told her.

She was silent, her lip trembling to speak and her palms itchy to grab Keith into a hug and reassure him. But that wouldn't help, it would only make it worse.

She leaned closer to him, her lips catching Keith's cheek in a soft kiss. He froze and hid his face in his hands when she departed.

"Wa- what was that for?" He mumbled between his fingers, his voice a pitch higher than normal.

"I couldn't think of anything to say." She was non-chalant and calm, pretending to be oblivious.

"So you just kissed me?!" He screamed, mistakenly showing off his reddened face.

"It was the best answer." She turned serious and gazed somewhere else. Her face changed completely.

"I, I don't get it." Keith answered, curious.

"You will someday." Silence took over the two of them. Keith sighed yet again, as his fingers traced his cheek.

"Are you mad at me?" She was back to being charming and bubbly now, with a hint of mischief.

"No." Keith puffed his cheeks and continued to be silent and ignorant.

"Are you mad that I kissed youuu? Or did I kiss the wrong placeeee? Did you expect somewhere else, hmm?" She cooed to him, in a childish way.

"Just eat a cookie and shut up." Keith's face flushed, and he grabbed a cookie and forced into her mouth. She giggled and let her head drop on his shoulder, spending the rest of the time in a pleasant silence.

 

It didn't seem like Keith was letting down his walls. More so, it felt like he was building an entire house. He was building, slowly, brick after brick, while she waited for him inside the home.

Keith wasn't letting his walls down. He wouldn't do that. He had let her into his crumbled heart's home, and he's now building a steady house for her to happily live in.

But the materials for that construction weren't going to come out of thin air; he was working to achieve them. With that said, it was no longer needed for her to seek him out every day and find him in his hiding spaces; he came to her of free will.

Even if he was quiet during shared lunches, even if he got jealous that Steven got along with her so well, he still enjoyed every minute of it. The physics teacher hated the last desk now, the whispers, chit-chat and laughs coming from there.

 

The streets looked fairly empty, therefore it was quiet. The only sound prominent to Keith's ears were steps of someone running, but he ignored them, as he thought of nothing more than an enthusiastic runner. He was making his way towards the inside of the building, towards the blue set of doors.

However, soon enough, a warm lump of weight seemed to jump and fall on top of Keith's back, and made him hunch over as he almost choked on his spit. He heard familiar giggles atop his ear, and his lips turned into a smile as he grabbed hold of the legs of the intruder, to help steady her and jump her on his back for a better position.

"Hello." Keith turned to her, looking straight in her eyes which seemed to sparkle in childishness.

"Where are we going?" She asked, with a tone of hinted enthusiasm.

"Up." Keith simply answered.

"Eeehh, wrong. We're going on an adventure!" That's why she was enthusiastic.

"To where?!" Keith tried to mimic her enthusiasm and play along.

"Upstairs." It was very anti-climatic, and Keith couldn't help but roll his eyes with a chuckle. She laughed as well, and lumped her body more on Keith's back.

"Well, if you want to go upstairs you should get off my back. I'm not carrying you up four sets of stairs." Keith confessed, his thighs burning and his back a little aching.

She carefully unfolded herself from Keith's body and stepped back on the floor.

"Are you calling me fat?" She joked, crooking an eyebrow at him.

"No, I'm just saying that my knees are heavy." Keith shook his legs to try and dispense the stinging feeling.

"Arms are sweaty.

There's vomit on his sweater already." Keith followed in just a breath, looking just a tad confused.

"Mom's spaghetti?" He finished the lyrics, or more so questioned if he was right about the rhyme.

"Oh, yeah!" She exclaimed happily and rose her palm in the air asking for a high-five. Keith returned the gesture, and their hands clapped together. Right after the impact however, she took hold of his fingers and messily intertwined their fingers as she forcibly started pulling him up the stairs, in a full dash. Keith stumbled on his way, but soon caught up and they ran up the stairs together, hand in hand, smiling.

"I have something real good with me." She opened her backpack on the rusty bench on the roof.

"Hmm."

"I've got this lil baby. A wireless speaker." She brought it up and let it shine in the sun.

"And a phone packed with DEAN's discography." She showcased her playlist to Keith, who just gawked at it.

"Oh, yes please." Keith smiled and let the music play.

"And, I've got food and a board game." She continued to rummage through her seemingly endless backpack.

"What game?"

"Backgammon." She pulled a fancy chest like container from her bag, which she opened and revealed it was a intricate backgammon board, packed with all the checkers and different dice.

"No way. I love this game." Keith instantly sat down and began arranging the checkers in their specific places.

"I thought I was the only one. I like oldies." She helped him, placing the black checkers while he placed the red ones.

"Me too. I also like chess."

"Chess is overrated." Keith looked surprised at her remark, but just chuckled.

"You're weird." _The good type._

They wouldn't meet exactly _every_ day. It was more of once two or three days occurrence, but in the end they always seemed to find each other. She never stopped her playful teasing and the invasion of his personal space, and Keith finally grew accustomed to her friendly nature. But he wouldn't forget what he actually wanted and it was steadily eating away at him. He was scared of what he desired, he was scared of what he was feeling. Maybe it was better to leave it as it was.

Days passed and she hasn't caught a glimpse of him. He wasn't in class, he wasn't in the school yard, not in the canteen, anywhere. Steven and her ate alone quietly. Even he didn't know anything. No text messages, his phone seemed to be turned off. Keith's condition was a total blur.

She couldn't stand it. The fear seeped into her bones, it flowed through her veins like toxin. It wasn't a mystery at all, everybody knew - Keith wasn't exactly emotionally stable. One thought repeated itself in her head over and over. What if he had killed himself? It was the most terrifying thing to ever think about. She prayed silently in her head that he was safe. Maybe he left somewhere without notice? Maybe he was sick? Maybe he was in the hospital?

She munched on her lip as she pushed open the blue doors, climbing up the way too dead silent stairs. It was evening, and the automatic lights above the stairs lit up the building one by one. She hesitated to open the roof door; what if something bad awaited her? In the darkness, crawling towards her?

The door was heavy and opened slowly, the bar on the inside of it cold; for some unknown reason, she was hearing the thumping of her heartbeat in her ears, and her legs started shaking. She stepped out and met the sharp wind; and then she heard it.

Someone was sobbing.

She peeked the corner carefully, glancing over at the rusty bench. It was inhabited, by a man hugging his knees, in wrinkled clothes, with messed up hair and violently shaking shoulders. It was an instant relief.

"Keith?"

The figure raised its head and glanced around, his face stained with tears. Recognitions lit up his eyes but he seemed to shy away, his eyes getting even more watery.

"Keith!"

She ran up to him and embraced him, pulling his torso to hers and his head to her shoulder. He sniffed his nose and stood limp in  her arms, without holding her back.

"I was so worried." She whispered to him, stroking his back.

"I'm sorry." He let out and then cried again. She caressed him and calmed him down. He finally held her back after a while, and he grasped at her clothes. The warmth of her body, the beat of her heart and the sound of her breath made him agitated yet content at the same time.

He held her arms as he rose from her shoulder and looked her in the eye. He pleaded silently. He looked scared. She reached forward and kissed his forehead, feeling how he shook.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" She asked, holding his hand softly and tracing her thumb over his fingers. He let his head drop and spoke quietly.

"I fought with Shiro a few days ago. We screamed. Things flew. I accidentally pulled the 'we're not even related' card."

He paused to clear his throat. He squeezed his eyes shut.

"I only go home when he's at work or asleep. I can't face him."

"Why didn't you come to school then? Wouldn't it have been easier to avoid him this way?"

"Shiro's... a teacher at school." He almost choked on his words.

"What?" She contemplated for a second. Did she know him? Has she ever passed by him without notice?

Regardless, she felt as if she shouldn't press the subject.

"You can fix it. You can apologize."

"What would that change?!" Keith suddenly freed himself from her grip and turned to the side, holding his head in his arms.

"I'd still be a huge disappointment." She instantly saddened.

"Keith, you're not.."

"Yes I fucking am! I can't even love Shiro like he deserves because I'm still broken after losing dad!"

"I'm sure Shiro knows he can't replace your parents. But I'm also sure he loves you and wants only the best for you."

"I'm sure he does, but...

I feel like I have no identity. I'm either the adopted child, or the kid who's dad died, or the stupid high school delinquent. And I don't want to be none of those. I fucking hate myself."

She sighed heavily.

"You're none of that. You're a loving brother and an amazing friend. You'd only be a disappointment if you gave up on the fight you are having. I know you're strong and you'll eventually find yourself." The word 'friend' hurt Keith coming from her mouth. It was clear now that she didn't want anything more. He tried to remember the words she just said, but all that came in mind was that one word, that overcompensated her care for him.

Keith sighed and rolled his head up, looking at the clouds covering the suppoused stars.

"I fucking need a beer."

"I'm not leaving you here to buy a beer, and I'm surely not giving you a beer while we're on top of a four story building." Keith confusedly looked at her.

"You think I'm gonna kill myself?"

She stayed quiet, embarrassed.

"That's why I come here." She panicked on the spot, instantly grasping his jacket.

"I like the thrill of the temptation. It's so close, but; I'd never do it. Life sucks, but I've got so much more to live for." He touched the fingers holding his jacket and softly removed them, holding them between both his hands. He smiled at her and he could swear he saw tears in her eyes.

She chuckled awkwardly and reached behind her, into her back pocket. She pulled out a rectangular package and handed it to Keith.

"Here. Maybe these can help." He inspected the pack and opened it, the sweet smell of calcium and nicotine hitting the air.

"Cigarettes? Why do you have these?" He pulled one out and she instantly gave him a lighter as well.

"No one's perfect, Keith. We all have our vices, our problems, our demons."

He lit up the stick and dragged a huge mouthful, sending it down his lungs and back out. His brain slowed down.

"I know, I know. I'm just handling mine incorrectly."

"Then stop. Stop hating yourself."

"I try, but I can't really do it." _Then I'll help you._

**_Thank you for taking care of Keith._ **

The text message said, from an unknown number. But she could imagine from whom it was.


	2. Second Quarter

Keith returned to school the next day, after having apologized to Shiro and having a beautiful family conversation that led to a strong man embrace; He got off pretty easily with a slick lie to the principal and tried his best to listen to the words she had said to him that day. He tried smiling more, being more communicative and open.

Maybe he trapped himself in a box, that's what he thought. If only he himself would ensure his freedom, perhaps things could be better.

Keith walked into the classroom, looking refreshened, and for once, not angry that he was at school. She smiled at her as he arrived at their shared desk, and scooted over to his chair. She stared suspiciously at the back of his head, something being new.

"You're wearing a ponytail!" She glowed like a neon from the excitement of the new discovery.

"Ihhmm." He seemed content, minding his own notebooks this time, mumbling some letters under his breath, probably in a last minute effort to learn something.

She reached for Keith's hair and felt around the stuck together tail, which was surprisingly softer than it looked like. She twirled some locks on her fingers and enjoyed the feel.

Meanwhile, Keith had gone completely quiet, contemplating if he should stop her or not. His hair was a soft spot; a place where being touched wasn't a fun option. He stood it as much as he could, but when she tried to retie the elastic that came loose because of her sloppy fingers, he had to talk.

"What are you doing?" She sensed the alert in his voice, and intentionally did something more, this time running her fingers down from his pony tail to the nape of his neck, gliding over dense black hair and free spirited small hairs as she went down. He tried to contain the shivers, anger, and the other small emotion forcing its way in; but the glass was filled when he noticed people were looking at them funny.

"Could you please stop? People are staring at us."

"And?" She didn't feel like stopping. No, it was soothing.

"And I just don't want you do this kind of thing in public." He tried to remonstrate, and finally had to reach behind him and take her hand away.

She pouted and picked up her pencil, scribbling nonsense triangles on the side of her notebook.

"Fine. _I'll play with your tail in private then."_

Keith was absent minded all hour, his mind everywhere it shouldn't have been. He had this awful urge to scratch his nape.

 

The first time she sat in his lap was spontaneous and cute, acting adorable as they hid from the rain underneath the improvised metal roof above the rusty bench; even if his heart was at around 110 bpm, at least it was the kind of excitement that would make his sugar levels go up; not trigger an avalanche of unwanted hormones.

The second time was different, however. It didn't feel all that adorable or friendly as before, as her hands started moving, dangerously close to where she ultimately wanted to tangle themselves in; he had to make up a lame lie to separate and try to make that not happen.

Something started to feel off about her, about her way of talking, her way of acting. Her actions seemed a lot more meaningful now, but not in a pleasant way; in the way that it would make you think she had an alter motive. Her words, as well, always seemed to have a different meaning to Keith's ears, but he couldn't quite put a finger on it. Maybe he was imagining things. Perhaps he was just crazily in love.

 

After an hour of unreplied messages, she decided to ask around before leaving the school. She thankfully found Steven, and he informed her that Keith was currently in detention for God knows what other mischief he had done. She walked to her locker and pulled a piece of paper from a notebook, and quietly scribbled some words in the silent hallway. With a deep breath of courage, she knocked on the detention room door.

Keith stared at the back of the professor, who unintentionally let out sigh after sigh from the stress one of the children was giving him. He was leaned over his desk, explaining to him for the fifth time, the same simple thing. Keith wanted to either punch that kid in the face, or go up to the professor and massage his tense shoulders to calm him down. But that would seem weird, as Keith and Shiro were mainly keeping their family relationship a secret in the school quarters. So Keith had to just stay quiet for yet another two hours and concentrate on school work.

Like an angel crashing down to save Shiro, someone knocked on the door. It creaked open and she came inside, eyeing the professor and then Keith in the back.

"Excuse me sir, but may I please come in for a minute?"

Shiro let her in and took this as a chance to go back to his desk and rub his temples and maybe take a painkiller as his head was throbbing. Although, he unexpectedly watched the girl walk to Keith's desk and sit down next to him. She pulled out her note and showed it to Keith.

_I know this isn't a thing you normally do, and it isn't quite mine either, but; Steven and the gang have invited me to go clubbing with them tonight._

_I want to go, but I'm scared to go alone. Will you please come with us?_

She pleaded through her eyes and Keith found himself at an impasse. As much as he hated those places, the loud environment and people, there was no way to deny such an honest admirable request.

He picked up his pen and wrote an answer.

_Alright_

Enthusiasm lit up in her eyes as she smiled; she held Keith's hand as a silent 'thank you'.

_Let's meet at the hangout at 7. <3_

She handed the note back to Keith and got up, ready to leave the room.

"Sorry for the intrusion, sir. Have a good day." She closed the door and chuckled to herself in the hallway.

Keith read the note all over again, wondering in what mess he had gotten himself into. He placed it aside with a sigh and continued to read about his history assignment, evaluating past mistakes and imagining crude wars in his head.

Shiro swiftly moved closer to him, and extended his hand towards the note. He picked it up and pretended to look at Keith menacingly.

"Mister Kogane, can we talk outside for a minute?" The kids looked at them and whispered, and Keith pretended to scowl and move sluggishly towards the door, following Shiro.

After the door was closed and they moved far away enough, Shiro read the note with a smile.

"Was that who I think it was?" He questioned.

Keith just nodded.

"It looks like you have a date with your princess tonight."

Keith flushed and looked to the side, hitting the tips of his boots together.

"She friendzoned me long time ago tho." He mumbled sadly.

"You don't know what'll happen. Feelings develop, they don't just magically appear."

"I know, I know..." But he was tired of waiting.

 Shiro glanced at the note again, and scratched the side of his cheek.

"I'm not really sure I like the whole club thing tho."

"Shiroooo..." Keith wailed, scrunching his nose. Shiro laughed and handed him back the note.

"I'm kiddin'. As long as it's legal, you can do whatever you want."

Keith sighed and moved closer to pat Shiro's back.

"Are you okay? You seemed in distress back there." Keith pinched his shoulders and messaged them, and Shiro seemed to relax.

"I can't wait to get the eff out of here." Keith loved when Shiro got real and let out a 'swear' here and there. Even if he was a figure to be followed, a role model.

"Just so you know, I'm gonna dress you up for tonight. I'm not letting you take a girl to the club looking like _this_." Keith sent him an ugly glare, but then realized himself that it wasn't such a bad idea.

 

Shiro and Keith ravished both their wardrobes in a search for the best clothes. It took a long time, and it was now pretty late, but Keith was finally dressed in what Shiro would consider a girls magnet. Still not straying too far from his usual style, Keith opted for black, ripped, skinny jeans and his high, laced, leather boots. Shiro picked him a black and white airy T-shirt with a dark collar. On top of it Keith stole Shiro's grey leather jacket, which was baggy on him and he considered it went well with his eyes.

Shiro seated Keith down in the kitchen, and he, one by one, brought different products with him from the bathroom. First came the corrector stick, then a pencil eyeliner, then hair gel.

Keith wasn't against make-up, and it was great that Shiro knew how to gracefully cover up his acne, but he was a bit insecure about what she would think about his appearance after Shiro would have completely changed him.

Next was his hair, which Shiro had to mercilessly comb as it was awfully tangled at the ends; then he used hair gel to comb it up and slick it down, and fluffed it up with a hair dryer. The rest of Keith's hair was arranged in the back and tied with a red band.

He looked one more time in the mirror, sighing heavily. What if she doesn't like this? What if people are gonna make fun of him for going all out for something so trivial as a simple night out? He was sure he's gonna hear about this night from Steven for months.

He let some music play and began walking, cerebrating. Why was he trying this hard? It was true that she was giving him mixed feelings lately, and he's been thinking real hard about what happened that night; in the situation she was faced with, she wouldn't have had another choice but to call him a 'friend'. It was the truth, ultimately. And he, and his cowardness, won't ever actually confess that he was hurt or longing for something else.

He saw her looking lovely, waiting for him on the same concrete block he was sitting on when they first met. He couldn't believe his memories or the span of time that passed since then; he never thought it would come to this.

The absence of light caused by Keith's shadow finally caught her attention and she looked up. Speechless, batting her lashes and narrowing her eyes, her lips were parted in awe. She looked him up and down multiple times.

"You look way too hot for your own good." She said with a tone he'd never heard before. It was deeper, and devious almost.

He looked towards the ground and placed his hands in his pockets to steady his shaking fingers. She got up the cement seat and lifted his chin with a finger, his orbs looking every which way. His breath got stuck as she leaned closer to his face, holding his chin.

"Are you wearing make-up?"

"Yeah." Keith let out a whisper, stepping back a bit in embarrassment.

"That's awesome." Keith looked back at her, to see her smiling. He felt relieved that she didn't judge him.

"I'm going to take so many pictures tonight, you won't even believe."

Keith knitted his eyebrows and pursed his lips to the side. He didn't look happy about the idea.

"Are you not okay with it?"

"I, I am, just; Don't post them anywhere."

"Deal." She walked closer to him, holding her phone out. She hooked his back and rested her head on his shoulder, and Keith found himself forced to hold her back and smile to the camera.

"Thank you." She nuzzled her nose into his neck after thanking him, and Keith found himself speechless.

 

"Hey, we, uh; We don't need fake IDs or something to get in, right?" Keith questioned, on the way to the location.

"Neah. You can enter if you're eighteen, you just can't buy alcohol."

"Good. Shiro would've killed me if I did something illegal again."

"Again?!" She stopped her footing and looked to Keith, almost forgetting that he changed his attire. It was hard to get used to, and it shocked her at every glimpse.

"Long story." She chuckled, and went up to Keith's side, hooking her arm inside his folded elbow. He tried to look to the other side of the road, and ignore the hotness on his skin.

"I like stories. Especially juicy ones." She waved her eyebrows at him, but Keith was staring into space, so she bumped into him to bring him back.

"Yeah, I was listening. What kind of juicy stories?"

"Sex stories." Keith swallowed hard, and tried to keep a straight face.

"Let's not talk about that." He tried dodging, but the ball still hit him in the face.

"Why? _Do you not have one?"_ He got a little pissed.

"I do have one, it's just boring." She puffed her cheeks and gave him a fishy look.

"Sex is never boring. You did it wrong." He scoffed.

"I don't really care anymore."

"You should care. You're a teenager, you need sex. Keeping it in is not good." Keith got very uncomfortable, remembering late nights awake after unhealthy dreams.

"I don't really have opportunities. Or people to do it with." The truth is sad.

" _I'd have sex with you."_ Keith chocked on his spit and hunched over, coughing. She laughed away while patting his back, trying to calm his wheezing.

"Stop, stop making jokes like that." His throat hurt, as he struggled to get out some words after the exhaustion of his neck.

"No, it's hilarious! You're so innocent and adorable!"

Keith's mind was anything but innocent at the moment.

 

The music blasted in every corner of the club, swinging colourful lights portraying those who were dancing; a nimiety of teenagers moving their bodies. They were seated somewhere apart from the mass; and one by one, leaving their half empty cans of soda on the table, they all left to join. Only Keith and her remained, as if planned.

The sound was so loud that you couldn't hear someone a meter away from you; you had to read their lips, their eyes. As she was scanning the crowd, her attention was caught by a suspicious group of girls, dressed pretty indecently, sending clear messages through their eyes towards the person seated next to her.

"Those girls look like they want to eat you." Keith looked at them with the corner of his eye, but averted his gaze quickly.

"Aren't they just looking funny at me?" He had noticed their gazes.

"If by funny you mean they want to get into your pants, then yes." She took a sip of her fruity drink while Keith shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He should've wore a hoodie so he could've hidden his face. He wasn't used to this much attention. He put his forehead on the table and hid between his hands.

"Too bad for them, cause they're not getting anything." He mumbled from the table, harshly.

"You're your own cockblocker, you know that?"

"I do. But they're not my type."

She also laid on the table, looking at Keith's eyes from they're hideout of arms.

"What's your type then?" He seemed to ponder for a bit, then opened his mouth to speak.

"I like someone who keeps it real. Someone honest, determined, who would understand my fucked up life. And certainly not a spoiled daddy princess like them."

She knew he was talking about her. She knew his little secret and was even now acting upon it. She had a faint smile on, and with kind eyes, she told him;

"I think you need someone that would spoil _you."_

Keith kept quiet, but he didn't get the message.

 

"Keith?" She patted his arm, trying to get him off his special hiding land.

"Yea?" He was so done with this place, he wanted out. Fast.

"Come dance with me." He chuckled and hid back.

"I don't dance."

"Then why are we even here?"

"You dragged me here to be your bodyguard or something." Keith wanted to slap himself in the face after he heard himself talking. He pressed the wrong button, as he saw her expression completely change. She wasn't angry, she just; turned sad.

"If you don't like it here, we can just leave."

"I'm sorry, I just, uh. I'm really uncomfortable about dancing. Can't you dance alone? I'll wait here, I promise."

"The whole idea is that I don't want to dance alone. I don't want to bump into sweaty unknown bodies. _If it's you through, it's different."_

There it was again, that weird accent she puts on words - her different tone. Keith again felt mislead and trapped.

_fuck this shit_

Keith got up his seat and mentioned for her to move to the dance floor. She happily grabbed his hand as they wouldn't get separated. She whispered into Keith's ear.

"I'm not a dancer myself either. But it's all about enjoying the music, feeling good and making memories."

She wanted to make memories with him.

Keith didn't dislike the song that was playing. And slowly, he decided he didn't hate this place that much either. It caught up to him, like electricity moving his feet and coursing through his veins, and he began enjoying himself.

She was right, it didn't matter if they weren't good at dancing. Couldn't two _friends_ dance together and have fun?

Her hands were around his neck, and as they were moving and lip singing, she moved closer to his ear.

" _You're really good at moving your hips_."

_Think fast, Keith. Tell a lie. Escape._

He pretended to hold his head in his hand. It sorta worked, as his veins were bulging and it really looked like he was in pain.

"Are you alright?" She pretended to panic, checking his temperature. His skin was burning.

"My head is killing me."

"Do you need a pill? I have one with me."

"Neah, I'll just go to the bathroom real quick to cool off a bit."

He instantly took off, pushing people around and holding his hands in a suspicious position.

_No, no, no._

_Please don't._

_Fuck._

Keith closed himself in a bathroom stall, cursing under his breath and sighing in desperation.

He'll be locked in there for a while, until he calmed down.

 

"Where'd Keith run to?" Steven asked, sipping his soda.

She sat on the opposite side of him, in need of something to drink as well.

"He ran to the bathroom."

"Why? Is he okay?" Steven really worried, but rolled his eyes after he heard her answer.

"He most likely got a boner."

"Poor guy, man. You're a monster." She smiled back at him, deviously. Steven knew both sides of the story, but chose to act neutral.

 

They both acted oblivious to what happened that night; Keith was embarrassed and now more attentive around her so it wouldn't happen again, but she couldn't be stopped.

The fact that he lost control of his body with just one sentence was extremely bad; it made him more wary of the situation he was in, more immersed in reality and that his fantasies were no where true; it hurt like claws against his brain. Couldn't he finally achieve what he wanted? Why was he so reticent even if his desire was strong?

 

Hands snuck around his back and fingers smoothly danced around his sides with little, accumulated pressure, in an attempt of what seemed like tickling. He didn't laugh, he looked behind him reluctantly and froze when he saw her; it was still an uncomfortable experience, being close to her after such a big mental and disciplinary failure.

"Are you not ticklish?" She didn't seem to notice his stiffness, or so he though. He didn't know she was aware of his every move and intent; she acted accordingly to them to spite him.

"No." It was a blunt answer, and mostly a lie, so she wouldn't dare try further.

But that of ceasing an action wasn't a verb in her book; she continued, moving her fingers upwards, up the sides of his torso until she reached the laterals of his ribcage, where Keith seemed to react. His lips formed a straight line as he bit on his upper lip, clenching his teeth.

" _Come on Keith, I know it's working._

_Just let go._

_I know you want to."_

Her words spoke to him as if intended in another way, hitting the nail right on the head. Ultimately, he tried to stop her by trapping her fingers between his arms and the sides of his torso, but it didn't seem to work, and the devious utensils were still at it, this time pressing with more pressure, making Keith wiggle from side to side awkwardly, trying to lose her. His bubble popped and he started giggling. She clung to him even harder, the sound of his laugh powering her evil intent. Keith trashed around until he bumped onto her abdomen, where she had stopped her movement, letting Keith rest and cool down his voice in the presence of a silent, fuzzy embrace. He looked up at her face out of curiosity of her expression, but soon glanced away when he noticed some particular 'formations' were blocking his sight a bit. He blushed just faintly, trying to dispense his thoughts. The massage she was offering to his shoulders worked wonders, as the pain in his muscles helped concentrate on other things. As a final straw to tick him over the edge, she asked:

"So, what are we doing today?"

She still insisted they spend time together, even when Keith wanted to run away and hide in a hole. After all, he couldn't say no to her. She was in total control.

 

The beautiful, metallically red painted lady before him was being washed with careful swipes, fingers cleaning with tenacity and mixed pressure to rid her of imperfections; he frowned as he refound her small indents and scratched off paint. If only he would find the dedication and time to fix her; keep her clean and safe like he promised his father he would do when he inherited it. Truth be told, that happened way to fast. It rusted in the garage for years until he reached the age to drive it.

Steps echoed behind him, as the feared female approached and kneeled next to him, admiring the big metallic beast.

"She's pretty." He was proud of her just like it was a successful child.

"How'd'cha know I think of it as a her?" It was a irrelevant question, something to keep the conversation going, but also purely out of curiosity.

"Well, I imagined you'd ride a _her_ rather than a _him_." It truly wasn't an answer he was expecting. It made him a little sick to the stomach, as he know what she was insinuating.

"It's also a common thing for motorbike owners." She said with a snicker. _Alright, that was a more normal answer._

She watched as he struggled with the solidified dirt pigments on the slippery surface for another quarter of an hour; until he dizzily got up from his squatting position and looked at, well, his first love, but not his only one.

"Care to take me on a ride?" Was it a trick question? No, actually, he was terrified at the idea. She would be holding on to his body on the high way, at dangerous speeds; how would he manage to focus and maintain self control?

"No, I uh, I actually..." He looked at her disappointed face for a few seconds, in which his heart panged with hurt.

"Have you ever ridden a motorbike before?"

"No."

"It's pretty scary the first time."  Was he subconsciously planning to scare her off? To make her quit?

" _Everything is scary the first time."_ Now he was sure he wasn't imagining things. That was for sure a sexual innuendo.

He sighed and reached to the storage compartment on the side, neatly placing his wrenches and rags in bags, and pulling out a black helmet. He handed it to her and she lit up in glee;

"It's Steven's. He usually rides with me so I have a spare." He got up on the bike, starting things up and double checking everything.

"For how long have you known Steven?" She put the helmet on, looking at him through the small screen. She looked adorable, her attentive eyes coming on strong.

"Ever since high-school."

"Your friendship is very respectable."

"Ihm, he's an amazing guy. I couldn't have asked for a better friend." Silence followed, broken by some random car horn from the parking lot, in which Keith stared blankly at her.

"Aren't you gonna hop on?"

"Yeah, but how?" He didn't want to roll his eyes, but he still did.

"Just sit behind me." He took a deep, clogged breath as he felt the cloud of heat behind him form.

"And, uh. Hold on to me." _This is where it gets difficult._

 She looked perplexed for a second, and just extended her arms towards Keith. She just wanted to make things harder for him. He found himself forced to hold her hands, shaking, and guide them to his abdomen, dragging her body closer, way too close, to his.

"Hold on to me tight like this." She seemed to get comfortable, the only thing stopping her from totally leaning on Keith was the huge helmet. He felt her clutch his shirt as he removed the side stand.

"Put your feet up on that pipe and hold on to me. There's nothing to be afraid of." He didn't understand why she wanted to do this, even if she was scared. The least he could do was to assure her that nothing bad would happen, even if he wasn't sure of it himself. The front of her body was pressed against his back, something he's never experienced; there was never a woman on this bike before. Crossing out the possibility of his mother, about whom he knew nothing about. The heat was impossible to ignore, the blood rushed to his head. He asked her to pass the water bottle and took a sip of melted ice before he began moving, just to cool down a little.

The wheels rolled on the ground slowly at first, waiting for her to stabilize and stop trying to bury her nails into his skin. When they entered the high-way, she seemed to relax and without him knowing, it was the moment she actually opened her eyes. She was impressed about the difference of a car and bike, how real and close things seemed like this; it showed her a truly new side of travels, and even life itself.

She liked the smell of the tires burning the asphalt, and the sound of whoozing cars and buildings combined with the engine sounded so unic on a motorbike, probably because it was a lot closer and open. Places seemed to zoom by in complex, distancing landscapes.

Gradually, the scenario seemed to change. After half an hour of riding, she finally got the chance of asking Keith where they were going, as they were having a rehydration break. She knew they exited Houston a long time ago, but had no clue where they were going.

"You'll see. We're halfway there." Keith seemed to be plotting something. She couldn't know where he was taking her, as she was still pretty new to the area, having moved in from another state.

True to his words, after another 40 minutes, they ended up in a foresty area, at which she just gawked. It reminded her of home. Once arrived at the Ranger's cabin, a man greeted them.

"Good day, Keith."

"Hello, Trevor. How are things?"

"Quiet, lately. Pretty good." Keith and a man seemed to get along very well, a confusing interaction.

"That's great to hear.

Hey, can you please get off? I need to park." She seemed to be pulled back to reality, the man named Trevor extending his arm to her to help her down the tall seat. Keith carefully drove backwards to the side of the cabin, pulling down the side stand and turning off everything. He dusted himself off and took off her helmet, a gesture very daring. Keith seemed to have changed together with the new environment.

"Here you go." Keith handed a five-bucks bill to the man, as she was still confused.

"A day-pass for the lady?"

"Ihm."

The ranger handed her the pass, a pathetic piece of plastified paper. He pulled Keith closer by the arm, and whispered something to him; Keith seemed to fluster over the unheard words, sending an innocent look towards her.

They waved the ranger off, and began walking down one of the many paths that were arranged in the national forest.

"So, did you bring me here to do questionable Jason Voorhees things to me? Keith snickered.

"No, I brought you here because I thought you wouldn't know about this place." Keith joyfully went ahead on the path, spinning around slowly and then walking backwards as he talked with her.

"And you were correct." He grinned and motioned for her to move faster.

"I wonder how Mitch is doing." His voice danced in glee.

"Who's Mitch?"

"A squirrel from this forest that I named."

"Adorable." Keith had a way too fast footing suddenly, walking the road he already knew by heart, while she was scared of getting lost.

"Slower, would you!" She ran after him and caught his hand, restraining him to a normal walking speed.

"Sorry." There was no way to be mad at him in this moment. Keith's black bags disappeared, along with any wrinkles, and a kid came through.

 

"We're here!" Keith spun around in a circular patch of grass between various trees, then proceeded to climb on a branch, to reach something that wasn't first in view but then showed up between the branches; a squirrel house.

"Looks like Mitch isn't home." He pouted, sat down on the branch and swung his legs. She sat on the ground, in the middle of the circle, looking at Keith, and how the sun shone between the leaves on his outline. There was a moment of peace, in which she just admired him. He did the same.

 

"So, you seem to know the ranger, uh?" The main problem of their expedition was the cruel sun, and that they were almost out of water.

"Oh yeah, he's one of my dad's old friends." She cerebrated for a bit, then decided to bite the bullet.

"Can I ask you something personal? Like, uh, a sensitive question?" He seemed uncertain at first, but he decided to trust her months ago; whatever it was, he could take it.

"You always say you know nothing about your mom; that she straight up left - but since your dad was alive for a few years of your life, and you also have his friends... have they never talked about her?"

"Hmm." He was amazed at how much attention she paid to his words.

"They did. Pop always talked about how beautiful she was, how smart and passionate... He always said she was an incredible woman. He told me, when I grew up, that she didn't leave because she wanted to; she was forced to." He lain down on the grass completely, and she proceeded to follow him, resting her head on his arm.

"But I didn't understand it back then, and now I have no information to judge from.

I guess, um, the fact that I was told from a really young age that mom left me made me have a bad impression of her, that outshone any good thing I heard about her. Maybe things would've been different if I was told the truth from the beginning... but now it's too late."

"Wouldn't you be able to try to find her with the information you have?" She looked into his soft, purple-gray eyes.

"I don't think I want to. I have this bad habit of holding grudges for the entirety of my lifetime."

"Uf." She made a cute pouting noise, catching Keith's nose between two fingers. She squeezed and wiggled his nose lightly, and Keith giggled.

Was this a wrong moment to just envelop her whole in a hug and shower her with kisses? Honestly, any moment would be wrong, considering they were just 'friends'.  But that was Keith's instinct, which he couldn't follow.

"For all it's worth me saying this; I'm really glad I forcibly shook your hand that day and annoyed you until you opened up to me." They both chuckled at the memories;

"Why'd you do that tho?"

"I saw a challenge and I took it." Keith raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Am I a challenge to you?"

"The biggest one yet. And I never give in." His hand slipped in her hair, which was a surprise even to him. She enjoyed it, and seemed to purr when he accidentally touched the shell of her ear.

Guilt washed over him; he wasn't thinking straight. He took his hand away and looked at the high trees, turning on his back.

"What do you consider us?" He bit his lip in anticipation, but she hastily answered.

"Specs of dust within the galaxy." He cracked in a laugh, holding his eyes tightly shut.

"I didn't it like that, jeez. I meant us. Our relationship."

"Best friends?" She answered.

_Lies._

_"_ Best friends sounds accurate." He completed.

_More lies._

It was the time, wasn't it? The time when Keith finally gave up.

He had to make peace with the etiquette of 'friends', as it seemed it was impossible to get more than that. Not all desires come true, and for the main part, he was thankful that he at least had her as a friend.

_A friendship of mutual disappointment._

"Please read from page 152 while I correct the rest of your tests." The teacher said, and the students obeyed and pulled out their books.

Today, out of all days, she had forgotten her physics book. She asked for Keith to share, and as a stabilizing point, to lean over to Keith's part of the desk, she placed her hand on Keith's knee. He didn't mind it; as he already had given up and tried to eliminate all thoughts of attraction towards her; as hard as it was.

However, at lunch break, that same hand found its way back to Keith's knee, this time moving, slowly, carefully, up his thigh, then back down, and up. It lingered close to dangerous grounds, but never actually touching the 'forbidden' space. He tried to control his shivers, small electric bites making his hairs stand on edge.

When he looked over at her, to try and figure out what she was doing, he observed she wasn't even looking at him, she was staring into space as her hand moved, sipping on flavoured soy milk. He noticed she stopped drinking real milk whenever he was around; he didn't understand the meaning behind her choice.

The hand began tightening its grip, in short pulses of strength. He had no clue what was going on, but nor had he the intention of making her stop. It seemed unbelievable, that this was happening. He only dreamed of this in fantasies, but he knew this was nothing like he imagined. Maybe it was merely a friendly leg massage?

 

He was tense, confused, in his usual hangout place, procrastinating. She came behind him and kneaded his shoulders, pushing her thumbs the into painful spot next to his shoulder blades. He reacted by standing upright, without getting scared. By this point he knew it couldn't be anyone but her, and after this long, he even recognized the feel of her fingers. He enjoyed that small piece of euphoria, until her massage moved up his neck, two fingers on every side rubbing circles into his skin, dangerously close to his hair.

"Can you move down? My neck doesn't hurt, only my shoulders." That was a lie.

Even if he changed his mentality about her, the attraction was still there, and so was his soft spot. He couldn't afford to let her find that out, or have a repetition of the club episode.

She chuckled and clicked her tongue, but moved back down to a safe zone. That seemed to be even worse, the closer she got to his neck the harsher it became to control himself, but then she departed again and cold sweat rolled down his neck, seemingly freezing in comparison to his burning shoulders.

But it was fine, right? It was all in his mind.

 

It wasn't.

Something changed about her ever since that day in the national forest, a complete radical change.

Her eyes grew sharper, with a greedy, half lidded stare, lips bitten way too often; her tongue wetter with compliments and nasty words, a seducing, whistling whisper.

Her body became more fluid, along with its movements; her nails became claws trying to scratch his at his skin, her fingers a symbol of insatiable lust.

He became wary around this newly found monster.

 

One would think he'd get used to her fingers on his thighs, but he didn't. One would think she would have learnt to stay away from his hair after all the complains. But she didn't.

Truthfully, once you're attracted to someone, you can't escape it. Her eyes, her voice, her fingers sneaking under the back of his shirt; it made him want to run. He felt stressed, pressured, like the weight of the world fell down on him. Right after he let his guard down, after he gave up, she made him shake in his boots again, bringing back his bad habits and fears.

She laughed off his stutters and heated cheeks, deeming him nothing more than 'adorable'.

 

Some might say coincidences are miracles at the right places, and this was a situation fitting.

"Hey, Keith." She called him over, back to the hallway of the building, when everyone had moved past them.

"I think the strap of my bra unhinged. Can you check?"

"Uh..." He stared blankly at her, his jaw slightly tremoring.

"Please." It didn't seem like a request, more like an obligation.

Eventually he moved behind her, saw the problem through the neck of her shirt, and picked it up, and truly, it was completely unhinged in the back. It came out of her shirt and into Keith's hand.

"Yeah, uh, it's off."

"Put it back?" Easier said than done. He stood motionless, thinking how to pull this off. There was no way to put it back without touching her skin, right?

"Just reach underneath my shirt, my back doesn't bite." Yes it does, if you're Keith and scared of skin-ship.

Ultimately he did it, sneaking a hand underneath her shirt, as far away as he could. His leather gloves still scraped against her fair skin, and he noticed some kind of reaction.

The other hand he used from above, and connected the two to hinge that damn strap. His fingers rubbed against the texture of her skin, and it was some sort of voodoo magic. It felt like an instant addiction, a cruel punishment-gift. If he wouldn't have broken contact the next second, he most probably wouldn't have pulled apart at all.

"Thank you." _Why are you doing this to me?_

"Hey, Keith."

"Yeah?"

"You seem good at clasping bras. _But are you good at unclasping them?"_

A new cafe opened up, in which they served lactose-free smoothies. It was, of course, right on Keith's alley. He couldn't refuse her invitation, and ended up awkwardly sipping his drink, his body tense, as she stared him down from the other end of the table.

He cleared his neck and committed to an ounce of courage;

"Um, I want to ask you something." His feet tangled tightly with the legs of the chair he was sitting on, digging his own nails into his knee.

"Go ahead." She twirled the straw in her cup.

"Lately, are you,... by any chance... sexually coming on to me?" She laughed in his face.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Maybe it's just your desire for me making you see things."

Keith froze.

"My... what?"

"Oh, come on. Stop playing innocent." She leaned over the table, closer to him.

"I know you like me.

_You're attracted to me."_

He furrowed his brows and gritted his teeth, a tight fist forming on the surface of the table.

" _And we both know what happened that night at the club."_

Drops of water fell down, one after one, into the overflowing glass.

"For how long." He talked through his teeth, anger seeping through.

"I knew from the beginning. You're an open book, Keith."

He got off his seat and slammed it back under the table, grabbing the attention. He stormed out and slammed the door behind him, running past cars and getting on his bike. He floored the acceleration and left, while she watched from inside the cafe. She played it off cool as people whispered and judged; she knew this would happen.

The game wasn't over. It barely even started.

Even in the silence of the forest, between the chirping of birds and the sound of Mitch munching on his food, he couldn't escape her. He believed he finally found something beautiful, something just for him to revel in; but he was wrong.

He's dealt with this before. This is called bullying.

 

He picked up her hand from his thigh and moved it; cold-staring her.

"Go away." But she never did.

She came even closer to him, and snatching away his phone and placing it aside, she climbed in his lap. But there was nothing there anymore. No emotion, no room in his heart for her.

"I've always wondered..." Her fingers enveloped the sides of his jaw and moved downwards, to his neck, and slowly to his nape.

"Why you kept me away from your hair. It's a turn on, isn't it?"  
Her fingers tangled in his knotted hair, pulling his neck backwards. He harshly grabbed her wrists and pushed her away, raising her up off his knees together with himself. He held her wrists up in the air, staring menacingly in her eyes, only a few inches away.

He'd be damned if he said the attraction indeed vanished.

"I swear to God, I..." He talked, his breath on her lips. He stopped and they locked gazes, Keith's eyes involuntarily softening.

"You what?" She dared him, biting the tip of her tongue.

"I hate you." He let go of her, grabbed his phone and stomped away furiously.

_Only if he could._

It ate at his bones, the fact that he couldn't get rid of her no matter what, she was always there, physically and mentally. Their memories haunted him, every time they laughed making him cringe and punch a wall. She visited him in dreams every night, leading him on and leaving him hanging off the ledge of a high mountain, alone, to die.

He though she was different.

 

Perhaps it was because she was still part of his clique, that was why she saw her so often. Steven seemed to pretend like he knew nothing, choosing not to get involved this time. Or that's what Keith believed.

Today they rented a soccer court, every boy in the gang assigned to a team of merciless ball play. Steven and Keith were chosen to be on different teams. The first half passed by just fine, a fair, fun game, which seemed to clear his mind and let him relax; that until she came by with the other girls. They brought drinks to the boys, something cool and chilling to help them win. She personally walked over to Keith to hand over the drink. He didn't look her in the eye as he took it, opening the lid and drinking while staring the other direction.

"You look good in a tank top. It really shows your biceps." Her hands covered his arms and caressed him up and down. He migated her arms in seconds.

"You should take of your shirt as well, like the other guys. I'd enjoy the view." She snickered, and Keith looked around, to see that truthfully almost every other guy was half naked, on a soccer field, at 11 pm. Not a very safe thing to do.

"Shut up, you're distracting me." She grinned at him and continued to joke around.

"Excuse me, go get your head in the game, Wildcat." She found her joke extremely amusing, but Keith didn't laugh. He wanted to, but he didn't.

"This is soccer, not basketball." Smart remarks.

"Yes, but you got my cringey reference." He rolled his eyes at her and took another sip of the beverage.

"You know what, let's make a bet." He showed as if wasn't interested in her games, but the scary excitement she provided overflew in him.

"If you win, I'd give you a prize. Whatever you want."

It sounded tempting.

Why was he so determined to win this match? He cursed at himself as he saw ball after ball fly into the opposite's team goal. Steven's team seemed to have lost their heads. For some reason, the match went too well. The opposite team did have a good defense and attackers were aggressive enough, they had legit attempts to capture the ball and maneuver it to their goal, but every time Keith somehow managed to save it. He himself didn't know he was so good at this game.

The girls cheered as they won the game, except her, who, all-knowingly, waited for him to come off the field.

"Did you win?" She asked him, and he wondered if she by any change left when they played or just had no clue about soccer.

"We did." She pursed her lips and pondered.

"Hey, Steven! Did Keith win?" She screamed after him, and heard him approve through a yell from a far distance.

"You don't believe me? I'm not a liar like you." Keith initiated a fight, but she didn't respond. The light in her eyes seemed to have died. He felt bad for a second, but then she returned to normal.

" _Choose a prize."_

He could ask of anything. The most prominent thing on his mind was to ask her to leave him alone for good, so he'd never have to deal with the heart ache she caused; but the memories again flooded in, beautiful dreams and the naive desires of unity and true feelings.

In the end, he couldn't do it.

Nor could he push her away, nor could he drag her closer.

He turned on his heels and left.

"Forget it."

She wouldn't have that. Surprisingly, she walked in front of him, at a higher speed. When he finally arrived at his motorbike, he found her sitting on it, on the side. She had her arms crossed and was pressing her foot rapidly to the floor, clearly if not only angry, also impatient.

"Get off." She didn't move.

She grabbed the shirt Keith put over the tank top and dragged him closer forcefully. They breathed on each other's lips, focusing their eyes in the darkness of the night; both felt like their lungs were empty, a continuous struggle for air which didn't smell like the toxicity of each other.

Keith didn't push her away. He didn't have the power to. He totally cowered out and froze, caught up in a magic spell, one similar to their first days, but a hundred times stronger.

Her lips pushed into his spontaneously, without warning. She molded her bottom and upper lips into his, sweetly and with passion. Keith's eyes closed and he shivered, but his lips seemed glued together. He couldn't move a muscle. Fear completely swallowed him; together with a guilty euphoria that lasted not more than ten seconds, when she disappointedly pulled away and let go of his shirt with a sigh.

When Keith opened his eyes to the dark of the empty night again, she was already far away from his melting body. He crouched on the asphalt and held on to his dear bike, in a pure shock that shook his entire body.

The world felt unfair to him; he had been tossed around for months now, from attraction to friends, to hate; and now...

Everything came back.

 

Keith was torn between the two pasts that haunted his mind; the far one, happy and relaxing, with a sweet presence next to him, like a guardian angel, and the recent one - being walked by a devil on a leash. He finally realized he was wrong, it was never about friendship with her. If this was her true nature, would he have fallen all those months ago?

What was he suppoused to do now? He didn't want to give her another chance, but he couldn't stand losing her. That kiss sealed the deal, that it was indeed possible to have her.

But did he still want her?

 

Why was she so cheerful, talking to Steven this morning? Why does she act like she did at first with him with everyone else, but with him she turns so dark?

"Hey, it's Keith!" She called out, like she used to do long ago, when the sight of him would make her cheer. The smile she wore was also similar to her old one, but not quite. It hurt him, that he'll sit down next to a person he once thought he knew.

"So, what did Keith choose as a prize?" Steven asked her, a ray of dark energy dancing around them.

"Hmm, I don't seem to remember." She pretended, playing around with her salad.

"Maybe I was drunk." She laughed falsely, making Keith clutch his fork in anger. She certainly wasn't drunk. He both felt and tasted her breath last night, and it certainly was far from alcohol.

"Keith, what was the prize again? Care to remind me?" Steven chuckled under his breath, his dimples risen as he tried not to laugh.

He looked at both of them, boiling with anger. He kept quiet, ate, and waited for her to leave. And that's when he attacked Steven.

"Are you part of this bullshit? Are you also bullying me, after three years of friendship?"

"Bullying? Who's bullying you, dude?" Keith gripped the bench so tightly it made a cracking noise.

"She is! She is and you know it!" He screamed at him, and Steven took off his cap and slicked back his hair with a sigh.

"You're misunderstanding stuff."

"I'm not misunderstanding shit!" Blinded by anger, he screamed as if he forgot the world around him.

"It's not bullying, Keith. It's teasing. Flirting. She's sexually daring you." He tried to talk to him calmly.

"Bullshit.

She's hurting me! Torturing me!" People around them made noises, but Keith just flipped them the bird.

"You're torturing yourself, man. They're your feelings; you either figure them out and communicate them or stay like this, idiotically looking past her efforts."

"What fucking efforts?! She's done nothing for me lately!"

"You know what, forget it." Steven packed his stuff and left the table, afraid he's told too much. But even with him rattling on, it looks like Keith was too egocentric to understand his words.

This hasn't started just now, right? As he thought about it, through sleepless nights, he figured she was like this from the start. The words that had another meaning to him, that tone of voice she had, it was all part of it. Had she wanted him from the start?

No, it was a lie too sweet to believe.

 

As the minutes passed by of the hour he so wanted to end, he couldn't help but look to his left, where she once snickered and grinned at him behind the teacher's back, passing notes and whispering meaningless things. She was drawing something; on a corner of a page, for the first time in forever being occupied by something other than the class itself or Keith's presence. They both were off that day; even with his inattentive demeanor he could feel something was off with her - maybe it was guilt? Or some kind of hurting?

When Keith looked at her again, she finally rose from her position of scribbling. She stood upright and straightened her shoulders, a perfect window of a few seconds for him to see what she was drawing.

It was a small, cute depiction of soccer ball. Next to it were some other different shapes that were scribbled over.

First of all, it was enough to give away that she did remember the kiss and was lying to spite him; and second, at least now he knows they were both, constantly, annoyingly, thinking of the same thing.

 

Everything went wrong with him today. He didn't sleep at all, talking with Shiro about Adam and their latest fight, then had Iverson piss him off beyond belief, so badly that his fist almost flew into his face, and with the constant frustration of her in his mind, he couldn't wait to get home, lock his door and hide under his blanket.

After the last bell, he b-lined to his locker to drop things off, and get the fuck out of there. It didn't take long for her to spot him and show up at the worst time possible. She began talking to him, to which Keith responded with total ignorance and haste.

"I'm not in the mood for your games right now." He walked off, back pack thrown on and headphones slipping in his ear one by one. Right when he thought he was safe, he suddenly felt shoved from the side, right into an empty classroom. He knew it was her from the start and was prepared to scowl and make his way out, until she turned around after closing the door.

Her lightly narrowed eyes pierced through him, her firm lips pressed into a line; she was angry, sad, all of the bad things. She scared him.

With every step she took forward he wanted to take one back, but behind him was the front desk. There was nowhere to go.

She looked into his eyes briefly, before sliding her fingers on his jaw and bringing down her long lashes as she closed her eyes; she kissed him sweetly again, alike the first time. Keith again was frozen, with a racing heart and closing-in lungs. But this kiss wasn't going to be wasted like the first one, as she pressed further into him, moving her lips around harsher and faster, also guiding Keith's limp arms to her hips.

Somewhere in the middle of it, colours flashed in Keith's mind, pigment turning radiant behind his closed eyelids as something simply snapped, the fingers on her hips starting to apply pressure, and his lips twitching slowly until they unglued, and Keith finally kissed her back.

It was short, almost too short, but meaningful. This time, Keith couldn't compare this feeling to what he felt at first. It was something completely new, as if only now, in that moment he had discovered he had feelings for her.

But the question was, what was the name of the feeling before this if only now it was this strong?

Their lips pulled apart, her smiling lips now glossy, but the smile soon washed off. It was replaced with a sorrowful plea.

"Please don't ever say that again." _Don't say you're not in the mood for me._

 

It was almost midnight when Keith was taking off his used shirt to throw it in the laundry basket and catch a glimpse of sleep; but his phone loudly buzzed.

**This place truly looks prettier at night.**

He picked yet another shirt and dashed out the house, leaving Shiro confused and screaming after him.

He had a bad feeling about tonight, a crippling fear, that message having scared him to the bone. What was she doing there, alone, in the middle of the night?

He called her on the way, but she didn't answer. All he could do was speed up his pace and jump up the stairs, pushing the roof door open with his shoulder.

She was there, covered in a blanket, looking at the stars in utter silence. Her phone was to the side, turned over and forgotten. She noticed him late, when his feet made enough noise.

"Are you alright?" She looked at him for a brief second, then scoffed and hung her head low.

"Oh course not." He crouched in front of her, looking up at her face. Her eyes were puffy, black bags showing without the existence of make-up, her hair completely uncared for.

"What happened?" He used his soft, calm tone.

"Doesn't matter.

What matters is I have a favor to ask of you."

How much he once believed he hated her, seeing her like this broke his heart harder than her direct action to hurt him.

"What is it?"

"I want to hold you in my arms." The moon watched over them, laughing at their misery.

"What? Why?"

"I want to hold you and tell you that everything will be okay so I can trick myself to believe it."

"That doesn't seem right..." He trailed off, catching the tips of her fingers between his.

"Please..." Her glassy eyes shone, as humidity gathered in them;

"We can talk through the night, be groggy tomorrow together."

His exact words from months ago she repeated, with the purest, most hurting tone she had.

"Alright." She scooted over to the end of the bench, resting her back on the arm of it. She made space for him between her legs, keeping one straight on the surface, and the other down. He sat down in front of her, and lain his back in her hold, his head against her shoulder. She hooked her arms around his torso and placed a quick kiss to his temple. He expected that; but she surely was cautious this time. She kept her hands away from any place that would tick him off.

Her embrace felt abnormally comfortable; it felt like he missed that heat her body produced, in the long time he had avoided any skin contact with her.  It felt just a bit unpleasing, as he wasn't used to such a thing; leaning his whole weigh and being into someone's chest, being held safely by someone's arms. The silence of getting used to it disturbed her ringing headache - she needed him to talk, to hear his familiar voice.

"What do you want to talk about?" She asked him, the cheer in her voice a little sour, but the shy whisper being convincing enough that she was in need of his company in that moment.

"Do you like cars?" Keith smiled, turning slightly to the side, his forehead to the side of her neck, looking into the vast city along with her.

"Absolutely."

Even she had weaknesses. But the common one they had was each other. But wouldn't the weakness dissolve if they were together?

Keith seemed to have caught a terribly important clue that night; that no matter if she's being a flirt and teasing him, or just being calm and friendly, he's going to miss the other option. The thrill she provided, it was new every time. In that specific moment, he though; What if the teasing stops? What if she became his? Would anything even matter after that? There'd be no reason to prove herself, lead him on without completion.

Maybe he could rest in her arms like this every day, wake her up in the morning, hold her hand... all the things he once wished for, but even better.

As the night went on and the rain began pouring, holding on to each other was a must, as there was only so much space shielded and the blanket wasn't big; he realized one more thing - it wasn't desire, it was need. That was exactly what he's been needing, finally making something in his life be stable, without ups and downs and drastic changes. He could offer his all to her and receive her all in exchange. A kiss shouldn't be something so treasurable and impossible to obtain, a caress shouldn't be embarrassing and skin-ship shouldn't be forbidden. It could all be his.

As he walked her home, the third and final piece combined with the others. He found out why the feeling of right now was so different from the one back then, and the name of it.

Those days in the beginning when they got along so well, when touches felt like magic; he liked her. It was nothing more than an innocent, teenager liking.

But now, through thick and thin, through her good parts and bad ones, through endless attempts to spite him and seduce him, he now sees it. Why those things were so hard to stand and annoyed him so much.

_He wanted all of those things - the touches, the dirty talk, the looks, the kisses..._

_He was in love with her._

In front of her house, she said goodbye to him, simply. They both turned their backs to each other, but Keith stopped his footing and called out her name. Turning around, she was surprised to feel Keith embrace her in a hug.

Something had to change.

If not tomorrow, then in a few days, he'd have to gain courage. Confess everything and end this story with a new beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to give some feedback!  
> Thank you for reading and see you in the next chapter!  
> P.S. Next is the smut chapter.


	3. Third Quarter

Keith walked around the humid, hot lands of the Garrison outsides, the rocks and grass crushing underneath his boots. It was hot like always, and he didn't know why he was wearing heavy leather boots, for he knew those always killed his feet in heats like these. Also, his skin was burning from the intensity of the warmth that wretched sun was sending down upon him, again, the fact that he was wearing a black shirt didn't help either, all but made it extremely worse because of the attraction of sun rays. But he was stubborn, and habits mattered to him more than logic almost seventy percent of the time. But today, he was here with the exact purpose to break habit. His habit obviously, but someone else's as well.

He held a red rose in his hand, upside down behind his back, right beneath his backpack, in a perfect way that neither the petals or the stem could be seen.

He was making his way to the school's gym. It was a clear objective, really, her face and awfully adorable yet sensual smiles flashing in his head as he anticipated. He even went as far as to ask around about her schedule, ending up deciding for gym class, for it was easier to catch her alone and maybe convince her to skip the next class, which forgive him, was music. She wasn't gonna die if she goes on without Beethoven for a day.  

He could see the secluded building in the distance, and the voices of young females oozed through the open locker room's door. Within a flash of light from the scorching sun, he saw her silhouette stepping out. He hurried his pace without saying a word, but she, diligent as she was, saw him as soon as she stepped out, as if she'd anticipated his arrival. She leaned on the building's wall, and quietly motioned for her classmates to go on without her, and waited for Keith to arrive, shielding her eyes the best she could from the blinding light. In that moment, she didn't know; whether it was the sun or Keith beaming with such strength. He looked extremely determined from that distance, but from close you could see how hard his fingers shook. He was nervous as it could get, scared he will blow this only chance he has, chance to work things out, to make them right. He could end this vicious circle of hers right here and right now, tell her how he feels - that he's sick of her endless teasing and leading; that he wants something real, something raw and passionate, without beating around the bush.

She watched him intently as he approached, trying to maintain a  straight face, but couldn't help the small smirk escaping the corner of her lips. He stopped in front of her; again, without saying a word, and looked back at her. She looked lovely in sport skinny shorts, showing off her slender legs, and the baggy shirt complimented her perfectly. She looked so cozy in her clothes, as if she put no effort into looking this good and making Keith go crazy over her beauty.

She noticed he was staring, and he noticed she noticed. Needless to say, even if the shade was very faint, his cheeks heated. His gaze moved around awkwardly afterwards, tryna find something else to fixate on. But he could still see, with the corner of his eye, how she smiled softly, her teeth sunken in the back of her bottom lip. He took a breath and closed his eyes -

"You're so cute when you blush." She whispered. Keith's eyes startled open at the feeling of warm fingers gliding on his cheeks. The breath he sucked in got stuck in his throat, and he released it with hardship, after gulping visibly, his Adam's apple bobbing slowly.

Keith knew how she worked; how she started off with harmless innocence, only to move on to more sensual teasing, all until Keith would feel like he could explode of frustration. The shape of her lips as she formed words, the touch of her fingers, the warmth of her body as she leaned on him, the sweet sound of her voice as she led him on to paths he never thought he'd encounter, these are all the things that have been slowly killing him. But today, he wasn't gonna let that happen.

Come to think of it, the presence of her at merely three inches away from him was enough to drive him to think of things he shouldn't. To yearn and suffer, to live in a fantasy that was so close yet so far, slipping right between his fingers.

The colour of her eyes was so clear and beautiful from that distance, her eyelashes clouding her eyes in the most perfect way; her skin was flushed by the heat, her hair every which way as an aftermath of the sport class.

Why was this so hard? Why had he no faith, no self-control?

Maybe it was lack of discipline, maybe it was desperation; or just pure instinct. It all happened in the flash of a second; his lips pressing against hers, his backpack hitting the ground, letting go of all the words he wanted to say to her, forgetting the reason he was there.

He felt her wanting to take a step back, but after all that she's done, he wouldn't have it; there was no way in hell she was escaping now. He hooked an arm around her back and dragged her even closer, keeping her glued to him by sheer force. She whined into his lips and went wild, pushing back against him, licking his lips hungrily, and Keith finally deepened the kiss. Her hands mangled into his messy ponytail, pulling at his hair and running her nails on his nape and scalp. Keith groaned, and with the help of her, who kept pulling him towards her, he managed to push her into the wall. She jumped and latched around his hips with no warning, and Keith almost squished the rose that was still in his hand tryna catch her and support her weight. They carried on nonetheless, rubbing their tongues together with every intake of air, sucking each other's lips and biting them pleasurably. Keith stopped to suck on the tip of her tongue, and she let out a moan, its vibrations eaten away by Keith's chapped lips as well. Then, their lips touched each other once more, this time more tenderly, slower and sweeter, and they gradually opened their eyes and parted for air. Their mouths hanged open and she breathed out yet another quiet moan, this time followed by the whisper of Keith's name. Their faces flushed, Keith's hair a mess, their bodies hot and sweaty from the heat of the sun and their latest actions; they stared into each other's eyes while their ragged breaths mangled with one another. Slowly, one of her hands slid down his neck and onto his shoulder, the other still in his ponytail, pulling at it to angle his neck so she could latch her lips on it, sucking and kissing while Keith closed his eyes and tried to control himself; instead resorting to digging his fingers into her thighs to hide his pleasure.

That until they heard a loud whistle and distant yelling. In an instant, she dropped from Keith's hips and he dragged her inside the locker room along with his bag which he threw somewhere inside, then closing the door behind him quietly. They crouched down on either side of the door, catching their breaths.

"Does Mr. Gulbert have a class now?" Keith whispered, looking around hastily. His body was still in shock and didn't know how to react, how to think, instead just ignoring the elephant in the room and concentrating on getting caught.

"Not that I know of." She answered, eyeing Keith up and down suspiciously, a bit taken aback herself of what previously happened. She liked the aggressiveness that suddenly developed within him; and certainly did not dislike the way his pupils dilated, how his blue eyes became bland and darker, slowly returning to normal as he regained consciousness. She felt accomplished.

They heard the heavy footsteps of military boots outside, and held their breaths in hope the teacher will go away. Right when the footsteps reached the door, Keith had the built in instinct to move behind the door, awkwardly ending up crouched on top of her. The P.E. teacher opened the door just like Keith predicted, and after looking inside for a couple seconds, groaning something under his breath, he closed the door and _locked it._

Keith was basically straddling her hips in that tight corner of the room, and now, she was swearing all over about how they will manage to get out of the room.

"There's a small window in the back. The girls in my class usually use it to skip P.E. I'll help you climb out." Keith announced, and she managed to calm herself down a tone, awkwardly shifting her body underneath him.

Keith cleared his throat and rose from their compromising position, instantly checking to see if the rose was still intact. Thankfully, it was only a tad withered from the hot temperature.

"Who's the flower for?" She asked, almost innocently, but with a glimpse of knowledge in her eyes.

"You." Keith answered, handling her the rose. She took in her hands carefully, and smelled its petals. She shuddered in delight and ghostly ran her fingers on the outline of the flower, feeling the softness tingle her fingertips.

"I need to tell you something." Keith started, clenching his fists full of sweat in anxiety.

She hummed in approval, still busy playing with the softness of the rose;

"I want you to- I need you to stop teasing me." He breathed out, and her attention was finally caught.

"Hmm..." She gave it a quick thought, but was quick to smile mischievously and deny him.

"Why would I do that? Just because you gave me a rose?" She cooed, the petals of the rose brushing against her lips as she spoke.

"Because I can't take it anymore." She glanced up at him, half satisfied with what she was hearing;

"I need you." He whispered, looking down at the ground. She shuffled, and Keith watched her as she softly placed the rose on a bench in the room. Returning to him, she took his hands and guided them to her hips, and she slowly backed up into the lockers behind her, dragging Keith along with her.

"Are you sure about this? Right here, right now?" She asked him, already pulling at the back of his neck.

Keith however, didn't expect anything like this. He wanted to confess to her, maybe take her on a date after school, have a nice cuddly day and share a couple kisses...

"I didn't mean this..." He trailed off.

"You didn't mean sex?" She scoffed, rolling her eyes at him.

"I meant dating. I want to go out with you." He blurted out quickly, shaking his head to clear his thoughts.

"Fuck me now, date me later." She bluntly said to him, and Keith's mind couldn't help but let go of all reason, boiling blood suddenly coursing through his body, turning into arousal.

He dove in for the second course of kisses, this time more confident and free, letting his hands wonder around the curves of her body. She, alike him, roamed her hands wherever she could, especially beneath Keith's black shirt. She teased his pectorals with the tips of her fingers, and her palm glided down his belly, as if trying to search for something. When she felt the abs however, she instantly parted from the kiss and yanked off Keith's shirt.

"Fucking hell, Keith. You drive me crazy." She struggled to say, looking at his appetizing body breathlessly. Keith scoffed and showed a little smirk:

"Me? I think you forgot who the victim is here."

"I don't get it." She spoke softly, trailing her fingers on Keith's pectorals, the other hand feeling the bumps of his abs.

"Why are you so self-conscious about your body?" Keith seemed surprised by her question, the cogs in his brain finally starting to move in the right direction.

"You knew? How?" He asked, searching her face for any hint.

She didn't answer right away, clearly still focused on the sex part rather than the small talk. She dragged his body closer to hers, gluing her back to the locker and Keith's body to hers, feeling his mild erection on her belly. Keith sucked in a breath at the touch of his clothed member to her covered abdomen, the friction being warm and pleasurable nonetheless.

"It's obvious." She stated with a small laugh, catching his lips into a kiss afterwards. Keith hesitated however, and she got the clue he wasn't yet understanding everything. She sighed and pulled away, bearing straight into his eyes.

"Why do you think I've been teasing you?" She asked, in all seriousness;

"To make fun of me? To prove yourself to me?" He tried, half conscious about his answer, although that's what he's been feeling for the last two months.

"No. To make you gain confidence." Keith made a strained sound as he was suddenly embarrassed that he thought ill of her.

"This is what I ultimately wanted. You coming to me. Snapping and fucking me senseless."

Keith gulped and felt himself twitch, but suddenly shied away. Anxiety washed over him, thinking that this is what she "ultimately wanted". What if she only wanted him for his body? Well, that was a flattering thing on its own, but still, he wanted so much more. What if things wouldn't work out between them?

However, she caught his face in her hands, unwilling to let him loose focus. She smiled at him heart fully, also letting out a giggle that surprised Keith and calmed him. For now, there was no way out; there's no way he could pass an opportunity like this.

"I didn't expect it here, but I guess fate is fate."

Keith seemed to ponder for a short while, considering their options. What if someone came in? What if they weren't able to get out? What if they got hurt in an impropriate place like this? The floor did seem really dirty, and the lockers are sharp... could he hold out his arousal until they got out of here? Should he take her home? Did he make his bed this morning?

"Should we, um, go somewhere else?" He tested the waters, but she instantly scowled.

"Hell nah, I'm not waiting anymore. I'm dripping." She announced, her thighs pressed together in an obviously tight manner, to solidify what she just previously said. 

Keith whimpered at her words, _feeling_ _himself drip._ His gaze moved down to her clothed privates, showing off perfectly with the help of her tight shorts. She smirked at him and jumped on his hips, Keith catching her instantly.

With the expertise of what seemed like a professional, she grinded hard on Keith's member and they both moaned. Keith pushed her into the locker again, now able to also move his hips into her. Their mouths sought one another, trying to muffle their mangled moans. Deciding it was the right angle and she wouldn't fall, Keith let go of her thighs and ventured his hands on her hips and up, ghostly teasing the sides of her breasts. She whined into the kiss and tried to push out the words between short breaths and kisses:

"Just. Take that. Fucking thing off. Already."

Keith did as told, and with a bit of help, he managed to pull the shirt over her head and drop it on top of his. His eyes roamed her chest, the way her bra rose up her breasts, how the straps traced her skin; then he examined downwards, at the dip of her hips, her clean smooth abdomen, how she sucked in her navel from the pleasure.

Softly and shyly, Keith's hands moved up to grasp at her covered bosoms, feeling the bra awkwardly moving around in his palm. Not seeming to mind the layers of clothing, she arched her chest into Keith's palms, asking for more friction. Keith seemed to get the message, and with the small amount of confidence that he gained, he slid his hands behind her arched back, reaching to unclasp her bra. It brought memories to him, but now all he could do was inwardly laugh at himself.

His leather gloves were somewhat rough compared to his hands, the texture difference making her shiver, goose bumps appearing on her hot skin. With his hands occupied, he pulled at the unclasped bra directly with his mouth - his teeth clashing with her chest - dragging it down her arms so she could work out the rest. Once the bra was thrown by her somewhere behind Keith, one of his hands groped one of her breasts, testing her nipple with his thumb to see what she'd like. His lips were an inch away from her other nipple, breathing on to it until it hardened. She furrowed her brow and grabbed Keith's hair _,_ pulling off his red hair tie and sliding it down her wrist for safekeeping, afterwards yanking his head closer by his hair. He began licking and circling the mound with his tongue, pushing the hardened rosy bud in every direction.

"Fucking hell, Keith!" She exhaled, scraping Keith's scalp.

His member was already as hard as it could get, Keith clearly getting off from the feeling of dominance she let him have, almost like an devilish revenge upon her for all the teasing she's done.

Running the steps in his head once again, he came to the conclusion that all he needed to do right now was _open her up._

Sheepishly smiling with his lips still on her chest, he separated from her and looked around, clearly with an objective in mind. She was somewhat confused as to what made him so giddy, and what exactly he was looking for. She yelped when Keith span her half naked body and lowered her until she slipped off his hips and landed safely on a short bench in the middle of the room, the ones typical to a locker room.

"Keith? What are you doing?" She asked, a bit flustered about her clueless state.

"You might want to hold on." He simply said, closing in the distance them. In the middle of the kiss, his hands slipped down to her privates, running a finger from her clothed clit to her eager hole, making her moan and latch onto Keith. When his lips and finger left her, she whimpered, only to drip in anticipation when Keith crouched in front of her and grabbed at her butt, slowly dragging her shorts down. She thanked the heavens she wore them today, as they easily slid off even with the shoes on. Taking off shoes during sex is awfully awkward.

Keith teased her folds through the fabric of her panties, reveling in how wet they felt. He was so bewitched by this; so concentrated in what he was doing; it was as if he was in a whole other world. He planned ahead what he wanted to do, licking his lips eagerly.

He slid off her panties as well, and examined her thoroughly, without even touching her. His eyes ate her up first, before he'd move on to the action of doing that. She scowled and whined, wriggling around to pull Keith out of his trance. It seemed to work, as he chuckled and moved to blow cold air onto her swollen skin, and she squirmed around, pushing her hips onto Keith's face. Suddenly enough to make her jump, his tongue pushed at her clit, teasing her with short licks. She finally understood what Keith said; unable to hold on to anything, her body arched and she fell, the bottom half of her body still on the bench, while her shoulders and head rested on the floor. He held her legs firmly so she wouldn't completely fall off and continued, but he was mildly worried about her position.

Her hips twitched up against Keith's tongue with every lick, and she moaned sweetly and sensually. Although she healthily tasted like nothing, it wasn't the taste that drove Keith to never want to stop; it was the texture. Her skin was so soft, slippery and wrinkly, and it was just a pleasure in itself to run his tongue along such texture. But her juices, oh man; liquid yet pretty dense, they mixed with his saliva and he spread it everywhere, drenching her clit to enhance the pleasure. He loved it.

He positioned his middle finger at her entrance, slowly pushing against it, while continuing with his licks. The finger slid in easily and with no pain, she almost not noticing until it curled against her front wall. As she started chanting his name, he added another finger, pressing them almost painfully against her soft spot, scratching against it. He lowered his head even more, pulling out his fingers and switching positions with his tongue. His fluid covered fingers probed, pulled, knitted and flicked at her clit, while his tongue made its way inside her walls, bumping against them in every direction. Keith breathed hard through his nose and tried to look at her between the mess of his fingers, hooded eyes staring her down lovingly.

She was close to an orgasm, and Keith knew it from the way she shook and spasmed. Her eyes forced shut, her brows knitted, her parted mouth pleading. He could be an ass and deny her, tease her just to get back at her, but he couldn't be that heartless. He moved to suck at her clit, while inserting three fingers. He searched for any pain sign on her face, but it didn't look like there were any. She still looked like she was floating in heaven.

She let out a hiccup when all three fingers started to rub at her front wall, and with a pained whimper, she came and shook violently for a minute or two.

After giving her some time to recover, he picked up her almost lifeless body and helped her up.

"Can you stand?" She nodded, but when Keith left her to stand by her own, she fell back into his arms, holding her to his chest, he noticed her back was grey and filled with various debris. He quickly yet tenderly dusted it off. After making sure her back was clean, he softly let her go to move to check a certain locker door to see if it was dirty or any way dangerous.

"Uh, Keith? What are you doing?" She asked, starting to feel weird by standing in the middle of the room, in nothing but shoes, while Keith tapped at a locker. _Man, he was weird._

"We're going back to the locker. I'm not fucking you on that dirty floor."

"Oh, how considerate." She rolled her eyes, scoffing at him. But truly, she was grateful.

She glued her back to the locker Keith was previously palming, and he finally began undoing his belt; but she grabbed his hands and gave him the "Let me." kind of look, sliding the belt out of its hinges in a second and pulling down his pants. He palmed his red boxers while her lips begged for a kiss; then forced her hand inside and stroked his hard dick with hunger, enjoying every second of skin contact with his wet, velvet-like-textured hot girth. Keith growled into her mouth, already too impatient. His hips buckled into her hand with every stroke, and his nails dug into her hips. She yanked his boxers down and suddenly dropped on her knees, rendering Keith totally speechless.

"You, uh, don't need to..." He blabbed out, gesticulating for her to stop.

Her hand slowly pumped his base, while her tongue sneaked out and licked right underneath his base, at his very sensitive frenulum. Keith hissed, his fingers tensing and curling into the air.

"But I want to." She blinked at him a few times, fluttering her lashes as if she was trying to persuade him;

Still, he had no control of this whatsoever. Once the pleasure seeped in, he was rendered to an unmoving idiot standing in the room with his pants down while the woman of his dreams sucked him off, way, way too well.

Her tongue started swiping along his length, flattened and full of saliva, coating him. After she was sure it was enough, her hand moved up, from the base up to beneath the head, where her lips peppered him with kisses. Her slow pumps spread the fluid all around his cock, adding to the pleasure and easing the process. She twisted her hand from time to time, making sure have a variety of frictions. When her lips sucked on his head however, he couldn't resist the urge and his hands flew to her hair, tangling in it as a sort of relief. Her mouth was met with the gooey texture of pre-cum, and she beamed at the accomplishment. She hollowed out her cheeks and took just the head inside her mouth, her tongue rubbing the underside ceaselessly. After a few moments, her free hand that was resting on his thigh until now went to cup and roll his sacks, action that almost made Keith jump out of his boots. Keith huffed and puffed, trying to contain his high-pitched whimpers, but failed visibly. _This was just too good._

Keith full on growled when she took a few more centimeters in, now starting to bob her head closer and away, with the help of Keith's hands and half-controlled hip thrusts. When he thrust too deep however, she threw him a nasty glare that sent the message more than enough, and he contained himself as much as he could.

Few minutes later, after the intensity of the pleasure grew too much and Keith scraped at her scalp a bit painfully, he panted out a plea for her to stop, as he wasn't sure he could take two orgasms.

"You. Should. STOP."

She did as told, separating from his with a smile way too mischievous.

"Cumming already?" She giggled, giving his thigh a chaste of kisses.

"Yeah. Let's do this while I still have life in me." He mumbled, looking ravished and sweating heavily.

"Did I suck out your life force?" She giggled, but was rendered silent when Keith grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet, only to slam her into the locker while holding both her wrists on the either side of her head.

"You do that every time you're around me. There's no need to get down on your knees for it."  She was surprised by Keith's sudden ooze of dominance, his dirty talk proving to be better than expected. It turned her on nonetheless, and was happy to eat away at his lips when Keith went in for a kiss. The shape of their bodies, their bumps and curves seemed to have melted into one, Keith's dripping, unsatisfied cock pressing into her so tight she felt like it was burning into her skin. Not able to resist anymore, she reached for his length, trying to guide in to her entrance who more than begged for it. A little more and it would get verbal, but she wouldn't do that. Too stubborn.

Keith stopped her, and reaching down to his fallen pants, which were still pooling around his legs, he picked up a foil from the pocket. Ripping it with wildly shaking hands, he rolled down the condom on his very sensitive member, remembering Shiro's words: "Safety first."

Keith grabbed her backside and whispered "Jump" into her ear. Obliging, she jumped and hooked her fingers in the shape of Keith's shoulder blades. He slowly slid in, first experiencing the tightness with his head, feeling how he was being strangled in what seemed the softest yet deadliest blanket in the world, while  her walls pulsated in need. He couldn't close his mouth as he slowly pushed more and more in, until he filled her to the brim with his thickness. She clawed at his back and bit her lip a little too hard, the stretch being too divine, her brain going into some sort of mental euphoria.

He started off with slow, rhythmic thrusts, sliding in and almost out; then he snapped completely, swallowed whole by the pleasure of his member being squeezed by her wet, warm, bumpy walls. He pushed into her as fast as his position allowed, and as deep as he reached, her weight becoming unimportant, his muscles bulging as he hopped her on his dick with merciless thrusts. He hella enjoyed the intensity of her scratching against his back, and he felt like he could drown in  the bliss that was her voice when she moaned. The worries of getting caught all disappeared, the locker room turned into a paradise.

All until red lights started flashing inside Keith's mind, numbing him away from reality. _This was actually happening._ He was fucking her into a locker. At school.

God, was there a way for this to never stop?

He smiled largely and she figured it out when they dove for short kiss; she smiled back, arching her neck and back as Keith hit her favourite spot with force. Keith saw as an opportunity and attacked her neck with kisses, licking and sucking at her skin the best he could. _He wanted to leave his mark. From now on, she was his._

Neither of them could think of a time when they've ever been so happy.

Keith slowly started to lose speed, sweat dripping down his chest as he struggled more and more with each thrust. He was pretty shaken from the heavenly job she did earlier, all in one driving his closer to his peak way faster than anticipated.

Thankfully, she's gathered strength 'til now, and using her arms, she lifted herself and bounced on Keith's member until she had what would be considered the best orgasm so far, convulsing and squeezing Keith inside her greedily, maybe intentionally as well, but still smiling largely; holding him in an embrace that couldn't be called anything else but love.

That was the end for him, and with a growl buried in the skin of her neck, Keith spurted everything into the condom and they both slid down the locker door, panting.

They stood there for whole minutes, trying to calm their dizziness and urge away the sleepiness behind their eyelids. She finally opened her mouth to speak, slowly and with no liveliness, like a forced whisper, and asked Keith to go fetch some toilet paper from one of the locker room's bathrooms. He wobbled over to his destination, his member still hanging low, unclothed; his legs being restrained by the pants hanging around his ankles. It was truly a sight.

He came back shortly after, cleaned and clothed, and offered her the paper to clean herself up. It was embarrassing, cleaning up your fluids with someone in the room, but Keith didn't seem to look at her, focused on putting on his shirt, and then messaged Shiro to tell him what happened. This gave her the perfect amount of time to get somewhat cleaned and dressed in her school uniform she had stored in the room, and when she had clothes on her finally, she went to the bathroom. It was all awkward and silent and Keith was scared.

"Do you have any other classes today?" She asked, coming out of the bathroom with her face wet with cold water.

"Ye- Yes I do." Why was he scared? Why was he suddenly shy? Maybe the adrenaline ran off, pushing the fear to seep in again.

"Skip 'em." She hugged his back, her nose digging through his black mullet to find his neck and nuzzle it.

"What?" He whispered, more like trying to ask "why" rather than "what". He couldn't care less about school right now.

"I told ya, didn't I? Fuck me now, date me later? It's time to take me out on a date." She was so damn cuddly and lovely, but Keith being Keith, couldn't concentrate on all that. Instead he searched through his pockets, seeing how much money he had prepared. She sighed and held his shaking hands;

"Relax, I didn't mean anything fancy. Let's just go for a walk. Let's talk." He sighed as well, his lips turning into a smile. She was a modern day princess, but not the ones who owned the world, the one who deserved it, but would never asked for it. That's why Keith loved her.

He realized quickly that her desire of having sex with him was a smart excuse, one to make him gain confidence in himself enough so that he wouldn't be afraid to answer her crazy loving. She wanted him to learn from his mistakes and ultimately fall under the pressure, bring out his instincts; figure out it wasn't a crime to act as he wanted to, in a total freedom.

The mystery of the past months were unraveling; all those times she turned the mood around, tempting him like a guiding light he didn't dare follow; he now saw all the effort she put into this rollercoaster of emotion - how she struggled to get to know him, have him close, and when he ultimately gave up, she gave him the biggest push he could receive, one that he misinterpreted. She didn't need tell him that her emotion was one unwavering since the very begging, that all she had in mind was his heart and never to bring him pain; that because, he himself had felt the same.

He couldn't believe such an utter happiness could hide behind just a kiss and a few words, but knew exactly how much it took to get there. He wished he had done this sooner, wished he understood her sooner.

He turned around and held her close, one hand tucking some hairs out of her face. She leaned into his finally-ungloved-hand and almost purred like a kitten.

"Alright." He smiled and gave her a quick kiss, after staring lovingly into her eyes. He pulled her into a hug and they stayed there for quite some time, exchanging warmth and perfumes, caressing each other's hair.

"Hey, why were you the only one that didn't change back into school uniform?" Keith _finally_ asked, the question munching at his brain still.

"I was going to, after I cleaned up the gym. Gulbert put me on duty today." She talked into Keith's hair and neck, clinging to him like a baby monkey.

"Oh. Should we- uh. Do that?" Keith questioned, but soon she pulled away so he could see her visibly roll her eyes.

"He _looked inside_ and _saw it a mess_ and then _locked the door_. If we cleaned it now, wouldn't that seem _hugely_ suspicious?" Keith cringed at his own stupidity.

"You're right." _Lovely smarty-pants._

"Should we go now?" He inquired, softly erasing the smug look of his face.

She nodded and went to pick up her clothes and stuff them in her backpack, Keith also reaching for his bag. He led her to the fantastically well hidden in plain sight window in the back, which looked like it would so well fit a person. Keith opened the window and threw his bag outside, then hers after double checking she was okay with her bag getting dumped outside in the grass from

a 2 meter drop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is how the story came to be, you see. At first it was simply porn without plot. But I felt incomplete.  
> So I wrote at it for another 3 months, God save my soul.  
> I'm proud of it tho, it's my little baby <3  
> Thank you for reading, and see you in the next chapter!


	4. Fourth Quarter

The moment they stepped out of the school grounds they linked hands  and broke into a sprint, fleeing from the scene of the crime as if chased by the police. They caught their breath on a side alley, laughing like guilty children. Their fingers intertwined, their feet moved on the pavement; they didn't know where they were going, but they knew that this new-found feeling of peace in their hearts was the thing they tried to find for so long.

"So, in how much trouble do you think we are?" Keith already forgot all about skipping school and the violation of a rule that is meant to be broken this days - not having sex on school grounds. He pondered for a bit, being the expert that he is in getting in complicated situations at school. The skipping is for sure gonna be punished, and hopefully no one discovers what they did...

"Just a few days of detention." He answered, with confidence, but then something else popped in his mind.

"Maybe more for you, since you didn't do what Gulbert told you. He's a tough one."

"Fuck my life." She said under her breath, placing her forehead on Keith's arm and rolling it around. He let go of her hand and held her waist lovingly.

"It's alright. I'll get into some trouble and be there with you." After she knitted her eyebrows and smiled awkwardly, she broke into a small laugh.

"You know what? That actually makes me feel better." They stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, leaned in and Keith gave her a quick peck on the lips before they began walking again.

He laughed quietly to himself catching her attention.

"Maybe you'll meet Shiro if he's on duty." She hummed.

"I'd love that." But Keith couldn't stop snickering, which signaled he was up to no good.

"You know, when you came into detention that day and gave me that note..." Keith let his sentence hanging, knowing she was smart enough to figure out the clues.

"No fucking way." She panicked and closed her eyes, shaking her head cutely in denial.

"Yep. That was Shiro." Keith marveled in her cute display of embarrassment.

"I fricking called your brother 'sir'. That's so embarrassing." Keith couldn't help the large smile his lips stretched into. She made false wailing noises, to amplify her inner struggle.

"Yeah, I was laughing to myself." She pushed him to the side, but he came right back, caressing her shoulder.

"It's alright, he understood." He reassured her, but then something else came to his mind.

"You know, he was so aggravated by this whole teasing thing that he actually wanted to talk to you in private." Her face paled.

"That wouldn't have ended well..."

"Neah, if you would've told him your reason, he would've given you a pat on the back and tell you to go for it." She chuckled along with him, and listened to him as he continued talking.

"He's been trying to make me gain confidence for years." His mind wandered off, still surprised that someone was able to trick him in such a beautiful painful way.

"Does that mean that you're happy that I teased you for so many months? She raised her eyebrows at him and provoked him. He took a deep breath and answered.

"Ultimately, yes. I'm happy it ended this way." It was all he ever wanted.

"Me too, even if I must say I am terribly sorry at the same time." He squeezed her fingers in his, showing that there was nothing to be sorry for. If she wouldn't have done that, he would've never found happiness.

"To be holding hands like this with you; without being 'just friends'; It's like a dream come true. I think I was hurting myself as much as I was hurting you." She looked down at their hands, brought them up and kissed one of Keith's fingers. He decided she had more to say, so he stayed quiet.

"I got so scared when I told you the truth and you started avoiding me... I had to come even stronger to compensate, I'm so sorry if I made you hella uncomfortable." Keith moved his lips into a straight line and made a sound of disapproval.

"It wasn't that;

To be honest, I was horny 24/7 and didn't know how to act without giving it away." She looked surprised at his honesty.

"I was denying it, and my attachment; but I realized my true feelings for you that night when you held me." It seemed as if they were hearing childhood stories, plots they somehow knew from far memory, as if it wasn't from their own experience. Suffering felt foreign to them now.

Keith stopped yet again, she turned to face him. He brought their hands to his chest, right next to his heart.

"So from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

For all that you've done, for helping me find myself." Sparks danced in both their eyes, people pushed past them on the busy street, but they didn't notice.

"And who are you really?" She knew who he was, but he wanted to hear it directly from the source.

"Just a teenager in love." The admiration of her gaze was the only sign of approval he needed.

"There doesn't need to be something wrong with me; I was making up most of it. I could've lived a happy normal life, only now I realize." It was quite the discovery he made, even she was perplexed that her actions drove this man to such enlightenment.

"Do you want to live a normal life?" That would be a drastic change for the adventurous, never stable, emotional boy she met in what felt like a different life.

"I don't know about normal..." He moved his eyes to the side, then closed them briefly. It looked to her as if he was mentally preparing for something.

"For now I want to start loving Shiro and Adam like my real parents..." She knew about Adam, but only heard about his and Shiro's recent engagement from Steven, since Keith wouldn't communicate with her anymore.

"And I, um. I want to live my life with you for as long as possible."

For the first time since he's known her, she hesitated. Her face heated up, and the shells of her ears turned red. She cowered into Keith's chest and hid there; he held her with all his empathy, feeling her little heart shake.

"Let's do that." She whispered into his shirt, and he pulled her away and kissed her. Kissing her was now his favourite way of communication.

They grabbed some food on their way, drank a cold organic drink, and gawked at various nerdy items. They arrived to a more open urban area, where right in center stood a fountain. Something lit up in her eyes, as she looked at Keith and then back at the fountain. She searched her pockets in vain, then proceeded to ask Keith for a favor.

"Baby, do you have a quarter?" She called him with such confidence, as if she was used to it already. Like she's done it before. Keith's mind went blank for a couple seconds; is this how it sounds when she pronounces that word? It could get addicting.

"Yes, here you go." He handed her the coin, and then was pulled by the hand closer to the fountain. She put the coin into her palm, then put Keith's over hers, finally linking fingers. She extended their hands towards the water body, right above the sparkling blue.

"Let go when I do." She sheepishly said, inching closer to his lips.

"Make a wish." Keith smiled as their lips touched, feeling the coolness of the humid fountain underneath his hand. As their lips moved, it seemed their minds moulded; he could almost hear her voice in his mind, wishing for a long, real, healthy relationship. Just as he finished his plea to the unknown forces, she let go of the coin, departing her palm from his. He also made space with his hand and the quarter fell, hitting the water with an inaudible laugh of joy. The metal shone underneath the small waves and sprinkles on the surface. As they held each other even closer, a wish was granted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the meaning of the 'quarter' metaphor is revealed! What do you think?  
> Next is a little bonus chapter, done to tie things up and explain everything!  
> Thanks for watching and see you in the next chapter!


	5. A whole

She looked around the room, desperate, pouting and sighing. She swore she looked everywhere, she just couldn't find it. From the kitchen of the apartment came Keith, also looking for something and with a question in mind.

"Babe, have you seen my hair tie?" She bit her lip with a snicker, knowing exactly where it was. In her frenzy of a search she rose her hand out in the air, showing the red elastic adorning the shape of her wrist. Keith walked over to it and carefully took it off.

"Did you take it out of hair last night?" She stood up, her body covered with way too less clothing, just a bra and panties, giving Keith ideas.

"Don't I always? You know I like running my hands through your hair." She followed the shape of his neck and shoulders with her hands, but immediately turned around to continue her quest. He found her ignorance and struggle adorable, and figured things would be even more interesting if he messed with her a tad.

"What are you looking for?" He asked, sitting on the bed and motioning for her to sit on his lap.

"My shirt from last night that you threw somewhere." She dismissed his gestured and continued to look around in a haze.   

"Maybe it's behind the bed, like last time?" It wasn't. Keith woke up before her and did the laundry. The shirt was in the dryer, begging to be worn.

She didn't notice that however, thinking that he only washed what was in the laundry bin. She fell for his lie and climbed on the bed, leaning over to search the space between the wall and the bed. Keith moved behind her, but she wasn't fazed.

"Do you really have to go to uni today?" He asked, holding on to her risen thighs, her suspended bottom looking like an invitation.

"Yeah. I have a paper." He lain kisses on the skin of her behind, where the panties didn't cover. She continued to ignore him.

"When?" His voice hinted mischief.

"Second class." He grinned deviously, getting closer to his prize.

"That's plenty of time." Kiss lowered and kissed her privates through the fabric of her undergarments, another hand creeping close to her clitoris.

"Keith, stop." She finally caught on to the joke and tried to move away, but he attacked stronger, rubbing her clit with a finger pad, strongly; she jolted. Before she could recover, the fabric slid down her thighs, and Keith reached for skin with both tongue and fingers. She melted under his ministrations, even if she didn't want to.

"Keeeith." She prolonged his name on her tongue, pleasure and the desire to make him stop mixing together in need and anger.

He pulled her up by the waist into his lap, her back against his chest; he pulled her chin up and to the side to kiss her lips as one hand worked a finger inside her without stop, and the other swiftly took off her bra. As soon as it was off, he massaged her breasts with strong squeezes, rubbing the sides of her nipple with his thumb. She mewled, digging her nails into his legs.

She grabbed hold of both his hands and took them off, making Keith wonder if after all this, she still wanted him to stop. It didn't seem like it, however, as she merely turned around in his arms and pushed her lips and body into Keith's, who was sitting on the edge of the bed.

They toppled over together, intentionally; hopefully the floor was soft and covered with carpet, unlike one place they had sex on years ago...

She threw his shirt over his head in a heartbeat, already moving to undo his sweatpants. If they're going at it, if she'll possibly run late, it better be worth it. They were gonna do it her way.

How come that even after all these years, they still miss the bed when making love? Even in their own apartment, the floor seemed a better place to mess around. Maybe they didn't change that much since then; the intensity and passion surely didn't change, but maybe they did mature a little.

 

Some say friendship comes from self pursuit,

She heeded his words;

One quarter.

He didn't believe hers,

One doesn't simply give up.

Frustration may also yield focus;

Another quarter.

Bodies speak love language,

They deny rejection;

Yet another quarter.

He made a promise,

She made a wish.

A whole.

 

Two beings trapped on spiky paths;

He was half scared, half inpatient,

She was half guilty, half relentless,

Quarter after quarter,

They became a whole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You've made it this far! I'm infinitely thankful.  
> I couldn't help but end everything with a poem, as the description is also a poem.  
> I've put so much heart into this story, I feel a weird emptiness and unsettling butterflies in my stomach as it is finally finished, and up on the internet.  
> I hope this will show my dedication to this fandom and my love for this character.  
> Watch out, as I am 100% Keith biased and my works with him are not all finished. I have many more. (Headcanons incoming!)  
> As my parting words, I want to ask a favour. I don't want anything but feedback. I want to know that my weeks of sleepless nights weren't in vain.  
> Thank you for watching, as always, and have a nice day!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! See you in the next chapter!


End file.
